<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;" class=""><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/international/544044-will-new-nafta-block-bidens-progressive-regulatory-policies" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class="">https://thehill.com/opinion/international/544044-will-new-nafta-block-bidens-progressive-regulatory-policies</a><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div><div style="margin: 0in; 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(44, 44, 44);" class="">Will new NAFTA block Biden's progressive regulatory policies?<o:p class=""></o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">By Sharon Treat<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;" class="">3/19/21</span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></div><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">In her <a href="https://www.finance.senate.gov/hearings/hearing-to-consider-the-nomination-of-katherine-c-tai-of-the-district-of-columbia-to-be-united-states-trade-representative-with-the-rank-of-ambassador-extraordinary-and-plenipotentiary" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">confirmation hearing</span></a> last month, U.S. Trade Representative <span class="rollover-people"><a href="https://thehill.com/people/katherine-tai" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Katherine Tai</span></a></span> promised a top-to-bottom review of partially negotiated free trade agreements initiated under the prior administration, including with the United Kingdom and Kenya. <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">She also made clear that the U.S. would not join the current version of the <a href="https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-the-trans-pacific-partnership-3305581" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Trans-Pacific Partnership</span></a> (TPP, also known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership or CPTPP) anytime soon. Tai noted that a great deal has changed since the U.S. exited the TPP negotiations — both global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing awareness of how trade agreements can obstruct other important policies. <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Tai knows this firsthand as the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/09/business/economy/katherine-tai-us-trade-representative.html" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">top negotiator</span></a> for members of the House of Representatives seeking to make changes in the new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) — or U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/business/economy/usmca-deal.html" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">(USMCA)</span></a> — with respect to access to medicines and the enforceability of labor and environmental commitments. However, the USMCA has significant flaws that go beyond the provisions successfully renegotiated by Tai, many of which reflect the fact that the new NAFTA is modeled on the very TPP that Tai and others view as outdated and out of step with current priorities. Priorities include addressing climate change and protecting biodiversity, promoting equality, assuring affordability of medicines and preserving the right to regulate to advance environmental, workplace and public health measures. <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Unfortunately, the <a href="https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/report-uk-kenya-trade-agreement-threatens-regional-integration" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">now-paused</span></a> trade negotiations with the U.K. and Kenya started from the flawed new NAFTA/TPP template. Tai and the Biden administration are right to pause and review these negotiations and should consult with civil society before developing an entirely new template for trade negotiations. In addition to the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-biden-ustr-idINKBN2AP1VH" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">“worker-centric”</span></a> approach that Tai has outlined, a new model must incorporate important principles that <span class="rollover-people"><a href="https://thehill.com/people/joe-biden" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">President Biden</span></a></span> articulated in his Jan. 20, 2021 <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/modernizing-regulatory-review/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">executive order</span></a> on modernizing regulatory review. <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Biden’s order has been called “<a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-order-progressive-regulation_n_6009dabec5b6efae63002e20?guccounter=1" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">game-changing</span></a>” because instead of focusing review of regulations primarily to reduce business costs it calls for promoting “public health and safety, economic growth, social welfare, racial justice, environmental stewardship, human dignity, equity and the interests of future generations.” In a significant about-face, Biden’s regulatory reform order tasks the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-regulatory-affairs/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs</span></a> (OIRA) in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) — which has been a primary force for deregulation and a roadblock to lifesaving <a href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-regulations-oira/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">regulations</span></a> for decades — with proactively encouraging agencies to develop rules that benefit the public. <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) should be a first stop on this regulatory review train. The new NAFTA is out of step with the Biden administration’s expressed priorities and cannot be the model for future agreements. Instead of promoting the interests of future generations, racial justice and environmental stewardship, the new NAFTA’s so-called “<a href="https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/agreements/FTA/USMCA/Text/28_Good_Regulatory_Practices.pdf" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">good regulatory practices</span></a>” chapter increases opportunities for corporate meddling to slow down, weaken and roll back protective standards. Provisions throughout call for regulatory impact statements, cost-benefit analysis, a rush to market without safety studies, limited labeling of <a href="https://www.iatp.org/blog/201908/new-nafta-limits-labeling-food-and-workplace-chemicals" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">hazards</span></a> and harmonization of standards with those of other countries or weak corporate-influenced international standards. While the text includes lip service to the importance of public interest regulations, the new NAFTA includes multiple <a href="https://www.iatp.org/documents/new-nafta-imposes-hurdles-delay-and-weaken-public-protections" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">deregulatory</span></a> provisions that instead fuel a race to the bottom. <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Multinational corporations, whose lobbyists have preferential access to the USTR through dozens of <a href="https://www.trade.gov/itac-committees" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">industrial</span></a> and <a href="https://ustr.gov/about-us/advisory-committees/agricultural-technical-advisory-committees-atac" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">agricultural</span></a> advisory committees, understand exactly how to use these provisions. The processed food industry has used new NAFTA to question Mexico’s authority to require <a href="https://www.iatp.org/blog/202001/bully-lunchroom-us-moves-weaken-mexicos-new-junk-food-labeling-law" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">labeling</span></a> of junk food. The agro-chemical industry is pushing hard under the new NAFTA’s agricultural technology provisions to <a href="https://www.iatp.org/blog/202103/stopping-race-bottom-trade-policy" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">pressure</span></a> Mexico to abandon measures to phase out use of the herbicide glyphosate and the cultivation and importation of genetically modified corn. The fossil fuel industry targeted Canada’s plan to regulate single-use <a href="https://www.iatp.org/blog/202010/multinational-corporations-already-using-new-nafta-block-action-plastics" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">plastic packaging</span></a> to reduce toxics in the environment as inconsistent with new NAFTA. <b class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></b></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">While so far, industry attacks have not deterred Canada and Mexico from proceeding with their public interest regulations, history is replete with examples of similar trade policies having a chilling effect on regulators or resulting in the reversal of policies, including <a href="https://www.iatp.org/blog/201907/did-obamas-trade-legacy-just-hammer-green-new-deal" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">climate policy</span></a> and country of origin <a href="https://www.iatp.org/blog/201505/wto%E2%80%99s-cool-ruling-confirms-that-trade-treaties-undermine-national-laws" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">meat labeling</span></a>. It is incumbent upon Tai and the Biden administration get our trade priorities right. Trade agreements are no place for picayune regulatory rules that delay needed public protections and mandate time-wasting regulatory reviews. <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Biden is on the right track in targeting OIRA and calling for reform. But if the same deregulatory agenda remains in our internationally enforceable trade agreements, Biden’s reforms will come up short, ultimately subverting his agenda and vision. <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><em class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Sharon Anglin Treat is senior attorney at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. For more than a decade, her policy work has focused on included international trade agreements and their intersection with environmental, food and public health policy. She first became involved in trade policy as a state legislator in Maine.</span></em><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class=""> </span></p><div class="">
Arthur Stamoulis<br class="">Citizens Trade Campaign<br class="">(202) 494-8826<br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class="">
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