New NAFTA’s Not Done
The leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico held a signing ceremony last week at the G-20 summit to advance the “new NAFTA” agreement. But as politicians celebrated thousands of miles away, working people made clear that the job isn’t done. “Despite today’s theatrics, the work of fixing NAFTA is far from over,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka (UMWA). “As it stands, this agreement has not earned the support of America’s working families. Without major improvements, this supposed overhaul will prove to be nothing more than a rebranded corporate handout.”
Negotiators still have a long way to go in crafting a reformed North American Free Trade Agreement that truly advances the needs of working people. President Trumka lined out a few key steps, including:
- Swift and certain enforcement mechanisms, including comprehensive Mexican labor law reform and a strong U.S. implementation bill.
- Securing tools to combat outsourcing in key sectors such as aerospace, meatpacking, food processing and call centers.
- Tightening auto rules of origin.
- Eliminating rules that keep prescription medicine prices sky high and interfere with the creation of workplace safety and other public interest protections.
“Working people have lived through the devastation of failed, corporate-written trade deals for too long,” said President Trumka. “That’s why we will continue the fight for an agreement that creates good jobs and raises wages here at home while protecting the rights and dignities of workers across all borders.”
