<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/24/our-union-celebrates-tpps-death-nafta-must-be-the-next-trade-deal-to-fall" class="">https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/24/our-union-celebrates-tpps-death-nafta-must-be-the-next-trade-deal-to-fall</a><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class=""><font size="4" class="">We celebrate TPP's death. Now the Nafta trade deal must be re-written </font></b></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Richard L Trumka</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class="content__article-body js-article__body from-content-api" itemprop="articleBody" data-test-id="article-review-body" style="word-wrap: break-word; position: relative;"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px;" class="">On Monday, it became official. The United States <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/23/donald-trump-first-orders-trans-pacific-partnership-tpp" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline" style="color: rgb(0, 86, 137); cursor: pointer; border-bottom-width: 0.0625rem; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); -webkit-transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out; text-decoration: none !important;">withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership</a>. In the end, President Trump’s executive order was a formality. The TPP simply did not have the votes to pass Congress. This was the result of years of activism by working people and our allies to expose this flawed deal for what it truly is: a ceding of power from citizens to global corporations.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px;" class="">Make no mistake, we dodged a bullet. The TPP was massive in size and scope. It would’ve led to a new wave of outsourcing, stifled wages and made life-saving medicines more expensive. Despite claims to the contrary, the TPP would’ve emboldened China, allowing Beijing to benefit from the agreement without changing the abusive currency, labor and subsidy practices that have disadvantaged family farmers, small businesses and working people alike.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px;" class="">The TPP would have also given multinational corporations special rights, taken a sledgehammer to American manufacturing and extended trade benefits to nations where LGBTQ people can be jailed or executed for who they are. </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px;" class="">Today we breathe a sigh of relief and say good riddance to the TPP. But this is not a time to rest on our laurels. </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px;" class="">The American people were divided in their choice for president in 2016. But one clear mandate emerged: there is strong, broad-based support for a new direction on trade. And when it comes to bad trade deals, none has a longer record of failure than the North American Free Trade Agreement. </p><aside class="element-rich-link element--thumbnail element element-rich-link--upgraded" data-component="rich-link" data-link-name="rich-link-2 | 1" style="float: left; margin: 0.3125rem 1.25rem 0.75rem -15rem; clear: both; width: 13.75rem;"><div class="rich-link rich-link--has-byline-pic tone-comment--item" style="background-color: rgb(239, 239, 236); margin: 0px; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"><div class="rich-link__container" style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 7.5rem;"><div class="rich-link__header" style="font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: 1.5rem; font-family: 'Guardian Egyptian Web', 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; padding: 0.25rem 0.3125rem 0.5em; box-sizing: border-box; min-height: 2.25rem;"><h1 class="rich-link__title" style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0px;"><span class=" inline-quote inline-icon" style="fill: #767676;"><svg width="17" height="10" viewBox="0 0 33 20" class="inline-quote__svg inline-icon__svg"><path d="M9.002 20c3.85.068 6.932-3.104 7-6.994.068-3.892-3.15-6.937-7-7.006-2.016-.036-3.59.694-4.888 2.053A9.968 9.968 0 0 1 4.001 6.5C4.064 2.97 7.414.937 11.003 1l-1-1C3.98 0 .098 4.447.002 10.006c-.097 5.557 3.35 9.892 9 9.994zm17 0c3.85.068 6.932-3.104 7-6.994.068-3.892-3.15-6.937-7-7.006-2.016-.036-3.59.694-4.888 2.053a9.968 9.968 0 0 1-.113-1.553c.063-3.53 3.413-5.563 7.002-5.5l-1-1c-6.022 0-9.904 4.447-10 10.006-.097 5.557 3.35 9.892 9 9.994z"></path></svg> </span><a class="rich-link__link" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Trump didn’t kill TPP, the people did</a></h1><div class="rich-link__byline" style="font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; padding-right: 1.25rem; font-style: inherit; color: rgb(230, 113, 27);">Owen Jones </div></div><div class="rich-link__byline-img" style="height: 9rem; z-index: 1; position: absolute; bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; right: -1.875rem;"><img class="rich-link__byline-img__img" alt="Owen Jones" style="border: 0px;" apple-inline="yes" id="39376DD6-7D35-422F-BFA7-9AD4CEB5271C" height="144" width="173" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:576E5ED2-DC38-4CF1-B60F-224F6EA0C9B9@hsd1.pa.comcast.net."></div><div class="rich-link__read-more" style="padding-left: 0.3125rem; position: absolute; bottom: 0px;"><div class="rich-link__arrow" style="display: inline-block;"><span class=" inline-arrow-in-circle inline-icon" style="fill: #ffffff;"><svg width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" class="inline-arrow-in-circle__svg inline-icon__svg"><path class="rich-link__arrow-icon" d="M12 0C5.373 0 0 5.373 0 12s5.373 12 12 12 12-5.373 12-12S18.627 0 12 0m.21 19l-.637-.668 4.888-6.326H4.996v-1.01h11.465l-4.888-6.333.637-.668L19 11.153v.685l-6.79 7.157" fill="#005689" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg></span></div> <div class="rich-link__read-more-text" style="font-size: 0.875rem; font-family: 'Guardian Egyptian Web', 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; display: inline-block; height: 1.875rem; line-height: 1.625rem; padding-left: 0.125rem; vertical-align: top; color: rgb(230, 113, 27);">Read more</div></div><a class="u-faux-block-link__overlay rich-link__link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/24/donald-trump-tpp-trans-pacific-partnership-president-hillary-clinton" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; top: 0px; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; left: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-indent: 200%; white-space: nowrap; position: absolute; z-index: 0; opacity: 0; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"></a></div></div></aside><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px;" class="">The consequences we warned of two decades ago when Nafta was first being debated have all come true. America’s industrial base has been gutted. Jobs have vanished. Employers have held wages down. Entire communities have lost their identity. </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px;" class="">I see the wreckage of Nafta as I travel the country, in shuttered factories and rusted-out schools, in desolate town squares and abandoned homes. Sadly, Nafta has wreaked havoc on both sides of the border. In Mexico, small farmers have been pushed off their land, workers have been abused and the wage gap with the United States has actually grown. In every way imaginable, Nafta is a political failure and a policy disaster. We are ready to fix it. </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px;" class="">For too long, politicians in both parties have paid lip service to repealing or renegotiating Nafta, but our trade policies have continued to move us in the wrong direction, giving more power to corporations at the expense of working people. We’re tired of waiting. Along with our affiliates and allies, the AFL-CIO is busy crafting exactly what a renegotiated Nafta would look like. But there is <a href="http://www.aflcio.org/Press-Room/Press-Releases/AFL-CIO-Releases-Blueprint-on-Rewriting-NAFTA-to-Benefit-Working-People" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline" style="color: rgb(0, 86, 137); cursor: pointer; border-bottom-width: 0.0625rem; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); -webkit-transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out; text-decoration: none !important;">consensus on a broad set of principles</a>. </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px;" class="">First, we must eliminate Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), the private justice system for foreign investors that prioritizes profits over people. Secondly, we must improve Nafta’s labor and environmental provisions, move them from side agreements into the core text and ensure they are enforced. Finally, we must address currency manipulation, protect domestic auto manufacturers, strengthen Buy America laws and bolster trade enforcement. Above all, every single chapter of Nafta should be improved to help working families.</p><aside class="element-rich-link element--thumbnail element element-rich-link--upgraded" data-component="rich-link" data-link-name="rich-link-2 | 2" style="float: left; margin: 0.3125rem 1.25rem 0.75rem -15rem; clear: both; width: 13.75rem;"><div class="rich-link tone-comment--item" style="background-color: rgb(239, 239, 236); margin: 0px; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"><div class="rich-link__container" style="position: relative;"><div class="rich-link__header" style="font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: 1.5rem; font-family: 'Guardian Egyptian Web', 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; padding: 0.25rem 0.3125rem 0.5em; box-sizing: border-box; min-height: 2.25rem;"><h1 class="rich-link__title" style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0px;"><span class=" inline-quote inline-icon" style="fill: #767676;"><svg width="17" height="10" viewBox="0 0 33 20" class="inline-quote__svg inline-icon__svg"><path d="M9.002 20c3.85.068 6.932-3.104 7-6.994.068-3.892-3.15-6.937-7-7.006-2.016-.036-3.59.694-4.888 2.053A9.968 9.968 0 0 1 4.001 6.5C4.064 2.97 7.414.937 11.003 1l-1-1C3.98 0 .098 4.447.002 10.006c-.097 5.557 3.35 9.892 9 9.994zm17 0c3.85.068 6.932-3.104 7-6.994.068-3.892-3.15-6.937-7-7.006-2.016-.036-3.59.694-4.888 2.053a9.968 9.968 0 0 1-.113-1.553c.063-3.53 3.413-5.563 7.002-5.5l-1-1c-6.022 0-9.904 4.447-10 10.006-.097 5.557 3.35 9.892 9 9.994z"></path></svg> </span><a class="rich-link__link" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; cursor: pointer;">We must rethink globalization, or Trumpism will prevail</a></h1><div class="rich-link__byline" style="font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; padding-right: 1.25rem; font-style: inherit; color: rgb(230, 113, 27);">Thomas Piketty </div></div><div class="rich-link__read-more" style="padding-left: 0.3125rem;"><div class="rich-link__arrow" style="display: inline-block;"><span class=" inline-arrow-in-circle inline-icon" style="fill: #ffffff;"><svg width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" class="inline-arrow-in-circle__svg inline-icon__svg"><path class="rich-link__arrow-icon" d="M12 0C5.373 0 0 5.373 0 12s5.373 12 12 12 12-5.373 12-12S18.627 0 12 0m.21 19l-.637-.668 4.888-6.326H4.996v-1.01h11.465l-4.888-6.333.637-.668L19 11.153v.685l-6.79 7.157" fill="#005689" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg></span></div> <div class="rich-link__read-more-text" style="font-size: 0.875rem; font-family: 'Guardian Egyptian Web', 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif; display: inline-block; height: 1.875rem; line-height: 1.625rem; padding-left: 0.125rem; vertical-align: top; color: rgb(230, 113, 27);">Read more</div></div><a class="u-faux-block-link__overlay rich-link__link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/16/globalization-trump-inequality-thomas-piketty" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; top: 0px; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; left: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-indent: 200%; white-space: nowrap; position: absolute; z-index: 0; opacity: 0; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"></a></div></div></aside><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px;" class="">How we proceed is critically important. Any renegotiation that ignores these key principles is a move to further rig Nafta, leaving our economy and democracy even more vulnerable. We simply will not allow the reopening of existing trade deals to be used as an excuse to further tilt the rules in favor of big corporations. </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px;" class="">President Trump promised throughout his campaign to make life better for American workers. Some of his early actions – from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/08/andrew-puzder-labor-secretary-trump-unions-wages" data-link-name="in body link" class="u-underline" style="color: rgb(0, 86, 137); cursor: pointer; border-bottom-width: 0.0625rem; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); -webkit-transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out; text-decoration: none !important;">nominating a labor secretary who routinely violates labor law</a> to unfairly attacking federal employees and immigrants – are a stark departure from that rhetoric. Trade has to be different. </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px;" class="">The TPP is dead because courageous Americans organized and mobilized to kill it. Nafta is a much steeper hill to climb. Working people are hungry for a new way forward on trade. We are ready for trade deals that create jobs, raise wages, breathe life into our communities, expand the American Dream and lift up workers around the world. That starts with rewriting Nafta – work that must begin today. </p></div><div class="contributions__epic" style="border-top-width: 0.0625rem; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(255, 187, 0); background-color: rgb(239, 239, 236); margin-top: 1.5rem; padding: 0.25rem 0.3125rem 0.75rem;"><div class=""><h2 class="contributions__title contributions__title--epic" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5rem; font-family: 'Guardian Egyptian Web', 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif;">Since you’re here…</h2><div style="margin-top: 0.75rem; margin-bottom: 0.75rem; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.5rem; font-family: 'Guardian Text Egyptian Web', Georgia, serif;" class="">…we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but far fewer are paying for it. 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