<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=""><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center; background-color: white;" class=""><img apple-inline="yes" id="D8574ECA-40F0-4D17-BD4E-C83D6C80EC25" height="194" width="957" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:image003.jpg@01D2E6BC.8BB68340" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center; background-color: white;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""> </span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center; background-color: white;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">***MEDIA RELEASE***</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">For Immediate Release<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">Friday, June 16, 2017<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">Contact: </span><a href="mailto:press@baldwin.senate.gov" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">press@baldwin.senate.gov</span></a><u class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></u></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class=""> (202) 224 – 6225<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center; background-color: white;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">Senators Call on President Trump to Keep His Buy American Pledge in NAFTA Renegotiation<o:p class=""></o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class=""> </span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) were joined by Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Gary Peters (D-MI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today in calling on President Trump to keep his Buy American pledge by removing the government procurement chapter from NAFTA during renegotiation.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">“For years, we have supported strong Buy American policies because we believe that American businesses and workers should get preferential access to taxpayer-funded U.S. government contracts. However, NAFTA creates loopholes in Buy American requirements by providing Mexican and Canadian companies the same access to taxpayer-funded U.S. government projects as American companies,” <b class="">the Senators wrote.</b> “You have promised the American people a ‘Buy American’ trade policy and we would urge you to follow through on this commitment and close this loophole by removing the government procurement chapter from NAFTA in order to restore American manufacturing and ensure that taxpayer dollars are used to create jobs in the United States.”<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">In the letter, the Senators reference </span><a href="https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/press-releases/presses-president-trump-on-buy-america" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""> that Baldwin and Merkley shared with the White House in March. The GAO found that the U.S. opened a greater percentage of its government procurement market to foreign firms than the next five largest trade agreement partners <em class="">combined</em>. The report makes clear that including government procurement in free-trade agreements like NAFTA is a losing proposition for American workers<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">“There is broad support among the American people for Buy American policies and the GAO report makes clear that including government procurement in free trade agreements is a losing proposition,” <b class="">the Senators note.</b> “The renegotiation of NAFTA presents a great opportunity to change the status quo and we would urge you to fight for bold reforms that benefit American workers during your negotiations.” <o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">The Senators were joined today in calling on President Trump to keep his Buy American pledge by stakeholders across the country.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""> </span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 15.399999618530273px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">“Trade deals rigged to favor corporations have killed jobs, held down wages and devastated communities. No agreement has done more damage than NAFTA and this renegotiation is an opportunity for the administration to make a fair deal for America’s working families. That means taking back the freedom to use taxpayer dollars to support good jobs here in the U.S. I commend these senators for leading the charge on this issue,” <b class="">said AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka. </b><o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">“Protecting ‘Buy American’ is a top priority for the Teamsters Union in NAFTA renegotiation,” <b class="">said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa</b>. “Senators Baldwin and Merkley and their colleagues who signed on to this letter, are showing the leadership we need to move our country toward trade policy that puts American workers first.”<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">"NAFTA’s procurement chapter is a license to ship tax dollars abroad. Our government — and every other — should be free to prioritize the use of taxpayer funds to create local jobs and support the domestic economy. We join Senators Baldwin, Merkley and their colleagues in calling for NAFTA’s procurement chapter to be eliminated,” <b class="">said Arthur Stamoulis, executive director of Citizens Trade Campaign. <o:p class=""></o:p></b></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""> </span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><a href="https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/NAFTA%20Renegotiation%20Buy%20America%20Letter.pdf" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">The letter is available here.</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">An online version of this release is </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><a href="https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/press-releases/nafta-buy-american" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class="">available here</a>.<span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">###</span></div></body></html>