<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 dir="ltr" class=""><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" class="">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" class=""> </span><wbr style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" class=""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><b class=""><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" class="">DONOVAN CALLS FOR ELIMINATION OF CONTROVERSIAL NAFTA PROVISION</span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" class=""> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><b class=""><i class=""><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" class="">“Investor-State Dispute Settlement” process cedes sovereignty to panel of private, unelected lawyers</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><b class=""><i class=""><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" class=""> </span></i></b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><b class=""><i class=""><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" class="">Donovan asks US Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer to eliminate process during NAFTA renegotiations</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" class=""> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" class="">Staten Island, NY – October 17, 2017….Congressman Dan Donovan (NY-11) today called for the elimination of a NAFTA provision that infringes on American sovereignty. The investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) process is an arbitration system that allows private, international lawyers to decide disputes between companies and sovereign nations.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" class=""> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" class="">Under NAFTA, foreign businesses can sue through the ISDS process if the company in which they’re doing business passes laws affecting that business. The panel of private lawyers ruling on the case has the power to affect hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars’ worth of operations. The dispute mechanism makes it cheaper to do business in countries with looser labor and business laws, which could harm American businesses and exports.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" class=""> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" class="">Given the potential harm to American businesses, Donovan asked U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer to work to eliminate ISDS during NAFTA renegotiations, and to not include ISDS in future trade pacts.</span></p></div></body></html>