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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none">Dear Trade justice advocates,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none">Hopefully you saw the press statements from Maryknoll and NETWORK yesterday. Here is a press statement from the Interfaith Working Group on Trade and Investment that includes additional voices.
<span style="color:#1F497D"><a href="http://columbancenter.org/content/faith-communities-call-nafta-renegotiation-puts-people-and-planet-first">http://columbancenter.org/content/faith-communities-call-nafta-renegotiation-puts-people-and-planet-first</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none">Chloe<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;text-autospace:none">
<b><i><span style="font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">INTERFAITH WORKING GROUP<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;text-autospace:none">
<b><i><span style="font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">ON TRADE AND INVESTMENT<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;text-autospace:none">
<i><span style="font-size:9.0pt">A W</span></i><i><span style="font-size:7.0pt">ASHINGTON</span></i><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt">-</span></i><i><span style="font-size:7.0pt">BASED WORKING GROUP WITH REPRESENTATIVES FROM A RANGE OF FAITH</span></i><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt">-</span></i><i><span style="font-size:7.0pt">BASED
ORGANIZATIONS COMMITTED TO<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoHeader" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><span style="font-size:7.0pt">ASSERTING A STRONGER PRESENCE OF COMMUNITIES OF FAITH IN PUBLIC POLICY DISCUSSIONS ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INVESTMENT</span></i><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt">.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:20.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:20.0pt">Faith communities call for a NAFTA Renegotiation that puts people and planet first<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> Contact:
</b>Chloe Schwabe, Chair<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> <a href="mailto:cschwabe@maryknoll.org"><span style="color:windowtext">cschwabe@maryknoll.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> 202-549-1696
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Washington, D.C.-</b> Yesterday, the Trump Administration sent official notice to Congress calling for a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. For nearly twenty years, the Interfaith Working Group on Trade and Investment
has called for a transparent and open trade policy that respects and supports the human dignity of every person, the integrity of God’s creation, and advances the common good.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Based on the leaked proposal in April, we fear a modernization of NAFTA that would include some of the worst provisions of TPP will further exacerbate inequities at the expense of vulnerable populations and creation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>In keeping with the teachings of our faith traditions and the lived experience of mission, we share the following reactions from select members of the Interfaith Working Group on Trade and Investment:<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“In 2009, the United Church of Christ called on then President Obama to renegotiate a “<a href="http://uccfiles.com/synod/resolutions/nafta.pdf"><b>more humane, democratic, and ecologically sound” version of the North American Free Trade
Agreement</b></a><b> </b>(NAFTA). With the news of the Trump Administration’s notice of its intent to renegotiate NAFTA, we would echo a similar call to this administration. We would support any renegotiation that would reverse the impact that NAFTA has had
on rising income inequality and the growth of rights and profits of corporations at the expense of workers across North America,” said
<b>Reverend Michael Neuroth, Policy Advocate for International Relations with the United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries,</b> “However, we call on the Trump Administration to ensure that the process be fair and transparent. Specifically, a
new NAFTA agreement should eliminate special corporate ‘investor protections’ and maintain the participation and protection of individuals and communities most impacted by NAFTA. Like the image in Micah 4:4, we envision a trade system and economic order in
which all can ‘sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid.’ That is our vision, to build a ‘Just World for All.’”
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“For too long the negotiation and implementation of free trade agreements has prioritized the interests and voices of corporate interests, at the expense of the poor and vulnerable- those most affected by the actual agreements. Columban
missionaries live with and serve those communities around the world and so witness how this lack of participation and prioritization of vulnerable communities negatively impacts their ability to live with dignity and sustainability. Any renegotiation of NAFTA
needs to be a transparent and inclusive process that promotes the common good and ensures everyone has a seat at the table.”
<b>–Scott Wright, Director, Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none">“When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) passed almost a quarter of a century ago, proponents promised it would lead to job creation in North America, increased living standards for workers and protection
of the environment. While some have benefited, it is clear that our trade agreements have been an important driver of inequality, both domestically and abroad,” remarked
<b>Laura Peralta, Senior Government Relations Advocate, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice,
</b> “One of the most adversely impacted communities is small farmers. In Mexico, we have seen population losses in the countryside and increased food insecurity. Rural dislocation has been a leading cause of migration from Mexico to the North because small
farmers cannot support themselves at home. Renegotiating NAFTA offers the possibility to address food insecurity, remedy the incentive that drives rural dislocation, and fix other problems if the Administration seeks changes that puts the needs of vulnerable
communities first. Small farmers in Mexico should not be forced to migrate to ensure that their families can survive,”
<b>Peralta continued. </b>(Read <b><a href="https://networklobby.org/05182017trade/">full statement</a></b>)<b><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">“In his letter,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">The Joy of the Gospel</span></em>, Pope
Francis warns us of a globalization of indifference. Our NAFTA trade model <span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">has been indifferent to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. Maryknoll missioners have witnessed an increase in hunger,
income inequality, and environmental degradation in Mexico since NAFTA went into force. We need a new trade model that prioritizes human dignity and God’s creation over corporate profits,” -
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Gerry Lee, director of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns</span></strong>. (Read
</span></span><a href="http://maryknollogc.org/statements/nafta-renegotiations-put-people-and-creation-center"><b><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;background:white">full statement</span></b></a><span style="color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;background:white">)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;background:white">“</span><span style="color:black;background:white">In Mexico, trade policies and domestic economic policies have opened up communal indigenous lands, which
were <span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">protected in the 1917 Constitution, to extractive industries.</span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Droid Sans","serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;background:white">
Now, </span><span style="color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;background:white">more than 30 percent of Mexico’s land mass is concessioned to private enterprises. These activities have contaminated water sources and diminished the amount of
productive farmland available for indigenous communities to feed themselves,” remarked<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Phil Dahl-Bredine, a returned Maryknoll Lay Missioner now based in Mexico</span></strong>,
“No one I know here realistically expects that a renegotiation of NAFTA will solve any of Mexico’s problems. The hope is that it will not exacerbate them.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">###<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Additional media contacts<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Laura Peralta Schulte, Senior Government Relations Advocate, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice,
<a href="mailto:lperalta@networklobby.org">lperalta@networklobby.org</a> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Reverend Michael Neuroth, Policy Advocate for International Relations with the United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries,
<a href="mailto:NeurothM@ucc.org">NeurothM@ucc.org</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D">Chloe Schwabe<br>
Faith Economy Ecology Program Director<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D">Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D">200 New York Avenue, NW<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D">Washington, D.C. 20009<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D">202-832-1780<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D">maryknollogc.org<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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