[CTC] FW: ADV: IATP Statement - Leaked draft of objectives for NAFTA renegotiation is TPP re-branded

[Josh Wise]

Here is IATP's statement on today's unfoldings:

-          Josh

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2017
Contact: Josh Wise, 952-818-5474, jwise at iatp.org<mailto:jwise at iatp.org>
Leaked draft of objectives for NAFTA renegotiation is TPP re-branded
In response to this morning's leaked draft letter outlining U.S. objectives in a NAFTA renegotiation, Juliette Majot, Executive Director of the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy, released the following statement:
"The leaked document outlining the Trump administration's negotiating objectives for NAFTA shows President Trump is breaking his campaign promise to take a different approach to trade and betraying the supporters to whom he made that promise. The expansion of corporate power will still be at the heart of these agreements. The draft document makes it clear that provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, from which he withdrew the United States, will be the blueprint for NAFTA re-negotiation. The Trump administration plans to destroy U.S. public protections in food safety, agriculture and agricultural technology are exported in the negotiating objectives. This failed approach will further entrench the interests of corporate agriculture and food companies over those of family farmers in the three countries.
In addition, the old NAFTA provision that allows foreign corporations, including foreign subsidiaries of U.S. corporations, to sue governments, the Investor State Dispute Settlement chapter, will continue to undermine local control for farmers, workers, and communities.
Finally, the objective of negotiating enforceable labor and environmental standards is a cruel hoax, since the Trump administration has moved across the board to weaken or eliminate the U.S. environmental and labor protections that serve as those standards.
Congress will have to approve objectives for a NAFTA renegotiation. The massive opposition to TPP by people of all political views should send a strong message to Members of Congress that the Trump administration's proposed repackaging of TPP in NAFTA will not be tolerated by voters."
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Based in Minneapolis with offices in Washington, D.C. and Berlin, Germany, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy connects the dots of global justice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems.


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