<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;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><a href="https://foe.org/news/weeks-round-nafta-talks-mexico-promises-dangerous-regulatory-review-chapter/" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class="">https://foe.org/news/weeks-round-nafta-talks-mexico-promises-dangerous-regulatory-review-chapter/</a><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><img apple-inline="yes" id="DA6F0408-C441-49F8-A834-0F6BDECC36C6" height="145" width="347" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D3B499.8B53FE90" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 3pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">This Week’s Round of NAFTA Talks in Mexico Promises Dangerous Regulatory Review Chapter<o:p class=""></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 18.75pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">March 2, 2018<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 18.75pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">WASHINGTON, D.C. –</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;" class=""> The latest round of secret negotiations on a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is moving toward a conclusion today in Mexico. Inside U.S. Trade reports that negotiators from Canada, Mexico and the United States have reached agreement on a regulatory review chapter.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 18.75pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">Bill Waren, senior trade analyst at Friends of the Earth,</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;" class=""> has released this statement:<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 18.75pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">A new regulatory review chapter in a new NAFTA deal would likely hamstring agricultural, food safety, and other environmental regulations.<b class=""> </b>It would likely underestimate the benefits of improved public health, chemical and animal welfare regulations and overestimate the economic cost to multinational business giants. For example,<b class=""> </b>insecticide safety standards would be lowered if the undervalued “benefit” of protecting the bees and the crops they pollinate is outweighed by the inflated “cost” to corporate profits.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 18.75pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">Almost certainly, a new NAFTA regulatory review chapter would threaten sensible public health and environmental safeguards across the board.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 18.75pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">Expert contact: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">Bill Waren, (202) 222-0746, <a href="mailto:WWaren@foe.org" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(20, 150, 55); text-decoration: none;" class="">WWaren@foe.org<br class=""></span></a><b class="">Communications contact:</b> Patrick Davis, (202) 222-0744, <a href="mailto:pdavis@foe.org" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(20, 150, 55); text-decoration: none;" class="">pdavis@foe.org</span></a></span></p></body></html>