[CTC] NAFTA statements (round 6)

Thu Dec 19 06:43:27 PST 2019

Statements / letters from IATP+, NFU and Food & Water Watch below…

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826

https://www.iatp.org/documents/advance-thursday-vote-leading-farm-food-and-public-health-groups-call-congress-reject?fbclid=IwAR3833cqAQjlS1ez8qUpY_I79_cuNyEUgYeECmyLtlr7JwGVAavJ4zSuef4

In Advance of Thursday Vote, Leading Farm, Food and Public Health Groups Call on Congress to Reject USMCA

33 Groups Urge Congress to Vote Down Deal that Would Lock in Harmful Trade Practices 

WASHINGTON—Congress is expected to vote Thursday on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) or New NAFTA. Rather than rectify the fundamental shortcomings of its predecessor – the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) – New NAFTA will maintain the rules that have crippled family farms and strengthened corporate control over food and agriculture systems in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. 
On Tuesday, 33 groups delivered a letter to Congress calling for the rejection of New NAFTA and asking for a new trade agreement to better serve farmers, consumers and the environment. These groups represent family farm, ranching, farmworker, local foods, public health and sustainable agriculture interests in the U.S. 
Since NAFTA's implementation in 1994, nearly 250,000 small- to medium-scale farmers have been driven out of agriculture, according to the 2017 U.S. Census of Agriculture. The benefits of increased farm exports and profits promised under NAFTA never trickled down to farmers, farmworkers or rural communities. While family farmers suffer, global agribusiness is thriving. Multinational firms now control greater shares of agricultural inputs, seeds and equipment; without effective federal anti-trust enforcement in the agriculture sector and enough competition, farmers must accept whatever prices agribusinesses dictate.  
The 33 signatory groups insist that Congress reject New NAFTA and establish alternative trade rules that respond to the needs of family farmers, ranchers, indigenous communities, farm and food chain workers, consumers and the environment. 
COMMENTS FROM SIGNATORIES:
Jim Goodman <>, President, National Family Farm Coalition <https://nffc.net/>: “The benefits of USMCA have been greatly oversold to the US farm sector. Climate change is not mentioned, and the new treaty does nothing to curb the environmental damage that was part of the original NAFTA. NFFC dairy producers do not support dumping excess US milk on the Canadian or Mexican markets, as that will force family dairy farmers out of business in those countries. We instead call on Congress to support dairy supply management to deliver fair prices to farmers in all three countries.”
Karen Hansen-Kuhn, Program Director, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy <https://www.iatp.org/>: “New NAFTA does not fix the problems created by decades of unfair trade and increasing corporate concentration in our food system under its predecessor. Rather, it will increase agribusiness exports in a race to the bottom, further limit regulation of food safety and intensify environmental impacts of industrial agriculture – policies that will worsen both farmers’ economic straits and the safety of our food.”
Based in Minneapolis with offices in Washington, D.C., and Berlin, Germany, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy <https://www.iatp.org/> works locally and globally at the intersection of policy and practice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems.

Read the letter to members of Congress here <https://www.iatp.org/documents/letter-members-congress-us-mexico-canada-agreement>. 

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NFU Board Backs USMCA

After many months of negotiations, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi announced that the White House and Congress had come to an agreement <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QwxMb_GdVcSS70bKGrTjTsqkmw4FHF3t5yNv1KuvucXYSeQso_ddXP62FCHGXLRR1zglijfqQcIANUoQUz8UKDYr8dYllGIp7IDIwUkn2plHk6uKCECcUE5rTe1CpxiGQEw1rIw23HR_x2N2UU8mnk-yiKthodz7ULViY5zoAkdi4XpBsxNw_qNRgmpBlQITukGiub42xA9TI3Sk3yE3CvsflmNsiWc82xo-uiHh3CVmqeThI_80Ng==&c=txEBQGlCBYmT3IhsU8hBOmGKBdQl-KraNUVN7a9y2v4ki0ZaTX9GfA==&ch=e65VC9FPaGmPzXbByNiJtoD-Gr7QzxAU7q-x5QncUwf1F0iErCapkw==> on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

At the insistence of House Democrats, the final deal does not include a number of significant provisions that were written in the initial version introduced last fall. For one, it omits a provision that would have inflated health care costs by granting pharmaceutical companies marketing exclusivity for certain medications for at least 10 years. The investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) arbitration procedure, which has allowed foreign companies to sue governments over laws that undermine their profits, was excluded as well. Over the past 25 years, ISDS has consolidated money and power into the hands of multinational corporations and encouraged the offshoring of domestic jobs.

There are also several improvements over the original proposal. Of particular note are stronger labor standards, more robust enforcement mechanisms, and some modest improvements to environmental protections.

Notwithstanding these revisions, the agreement remains largely similar to its predecessor, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), in its approach to agriculture. USMCA neither meaningfully addresses import dumping, which has depressed domestic commodity prices, nor does it reinstate mandatory Country-of-Origin-Labeling (COOL).

The National Farmers Union (NFU) Board of Directors did not support USMCA when it was first released and urged Congress to make improvements before ratification. Because of the aforementioned adjustments, the board opted to support the amended deal in a closely divided vote. In a statement <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QwxMb_GdVcSS70bKGrTjTsqkmw4FHF3t5yNv1KuvucXYSeQso_ddXEBc8qoB7Op1uQOiVHvb3t4nlN_b24E39S8YXSLlMKy7IVfkqRIA3e7rIlrQmHLNfGAC01u4p51acgdlTYp-gS2EXqviPbqrDyscukTYKNSi4YoA2855yIIY7HINiYuIsBTFIBxwS6PE11aArWFYOARhnsI63u0xvXdL6i9qGryYGH--hmSE4gFterRHjCqvyw==&c=txEBQGlCBYmT3IhsU8hBOmGKBdQl-KraNUVN7a9y2v4ki0ZaTX9GfA==&ch=e65VC9FPaGmPzXbByNiJtoD-Gr7QzxAU7q-x5QncUwf1F0iErCapkw==>, NFU President Roger Johnson thanked House Democrats for working to improve the deal and summarized the board's outstanding concerns with import dumping, COOL, and the administration's general approach to trade relationships. "USMCA might be a small step forward, but it's preceded by many large steps backward," said Johnson. "Ultimately, these modest improvements are dwarfed by the immense damage that President Trump has inflicted by destroying our reputation as a reliable trading partner and by wiping out agricultural markets that farmers had worked for decades to build."

While Mexico has already ratified the agreement, in order to be implemented, it will also need to be approved by the United States and Canada. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on USMCA this week, and Senate will likely follow suit in January. Canada's House of Commons plans to hold a vote in late January.

Read more in the NFU release <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QwxMb_GdVcSS70bKGrTjTsqkmw4FHF3t5yNv1KuvucXYSeQso_ddXEBc8qoB7Op1uQOiVHvb3t4nlN_b24E39S8YXSLlMKy7IVfkqRIA3e7rIlrQmHLNfGAC01u4p51acgdlTYp-gS2EXqviPbqrDyscukTYKNSi4YoA2855yIIY7HINiYuIsBTFIBxwS6PE11aArWFYOARhnsI63u0xvXdL6i9qGryYGH--hmSE4gFterRHjCqvyw==&c=txEBQGlCBYmT3IhsU8hBOmGKBdQl-KraNUVN7a9y2v4ki0ZaTX9GfA==&ch=e65VC9FPaGmPzXbByNiJtoD-Gr7QzxAU7q-x5QncUwf1F0iErCapkw==>.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 12, 2019
Contact: Hannah Packman, 202.554.1600
hpackman at nfudc.org <mailto:hpackman at nfudc.org>
WASHINGTON – In a closely divided vote, the National Farmers Union (NFU) Board of Directors opted to support an amended U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) released <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/us/politics/usmca-trade-deal.html> earlier this week.
The decision was contingent on a number of changes made to the deal at the insistence of House Democrats, including the omission of a provision that would have granted pharmaceutical companies marketing exclusivity for biologic drugs for a minimum of 10 years. The board, which is comprised of state Farmers Union presidents, was also encouraged by the elimination of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) arbitration procedure, as well as the addition of stronger labor standards, more robust enforcement mechanisms, and some modest improvements to environmental protections.
Notwithstanding these revisions, the agreement remains largely similar to its predecessor, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), in its approach to agriculture. The board expressed disappointment that USMCA neither meaningfully addresses import dumping, nor does it reinstate mandatory Country-of-Origin-Labeling (COOL), both of which NFU has strongly advocated <https://nfu.org/2019/09/09/farmers-union-board-calls-on-administration-to-strengthen-agricultural-markets/>.
In a statement, NFU President Roger Johnson thanked House Democrats for working to improve the deal and summarized the board’s outstanding concerns:
“As it was originally written, USMCA never would have garnered National Farmers Union’s support. Not only did it fail to make significant improvements to NAFTA, but in some ways it was even worse – especially its giveaways to the pharmaceutical industry, which would have led to higher health care costs. But thanks to the persistence of Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats, the final deal excludes those giveaways and strengthens labor, environmental, and enforcement provisions.
“Even so, this wasn’t the fair trade deal farmers and ranchers were hoping for. It does nothing to restore COOL, despite its popularity with consumers and farmers alike. Consumers want to know where their food comes from and farmers want to tell them – it’s absurd that this commonsense and mutually beneficial rule still hasn’t been reestablished. We are also disappointed that USMCA doesn’t address import dumping, which has depressed domestic commodity prices and undermined the success of family farmers. And while some of the dairy provisions are moderately helpful to farmers in the U.S., it isn’t enough to justify the corresponding harm to Canada’s supply management system that has served their dairy farmers so well.
“USMCA might be a small step forward, but it’s preceded by many large steps backward. Ultimately, these modest improvements are dwarfed by the immense damage that President Trump has inflicted by destroying our reputation as a reliable trading partner and by wiping out agricultural markets that farmers had worked for decades to build.”
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Food and Water Watch

USMCA is a New NAFTA and an Assault on Food, Air, and Water

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement should be setting off alarm bells for every person in America. Just like the North American Free Trade Agreement, it eviscerates vital food, water, and air protections
12.11.19
Food & Water Action Executive Director Wenonah Hauter said:

“Don’t let the Trump administration trick you. The USMCA is nothing more than a NAFTA 2.0 and it spells disaster for food safety, air and water quality, and climate change in America.
“The proposed agreement doesn’t even mention – let alone do anything to stop – the worsening effects of our climate crisis. In fact, it actually encourages the construction of more harmful pipelines and dirty energy exports that would further expand fracking in the United States and Mexico.
“It also drastically undercuts food safety protections with rollbacks on country-of-origin labeling requirements. At the same time, it hits consumers with a double whammy by simultaneously forcing Mexico to allow chemical giants like Monsanto and Dow to hide vital data about pesticide usage. 
“USMCA is not a trade deal, it is an attack on public health and the climate. Congress must reject USMCA or we’ll be looking at a future of irreversible environmental disaster and unsafe food, water, and air… with no end in sight.”

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