New NAFTA needs ‘major improvements’

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 3, 2018) — The following statement from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka was issued Friday regarding the signing of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) at the G-20 Summit.

Despite today’s theatrics, the work of fixing NAFTA is far from over. As it stands, this agreement has not earned the support of America’s working families. Without major improvements, this supposed overhaul will prove to be nothing more than a rebranded corporate handout.

Any progress made by this deal is meaningless without swift and certain enforcement tools to safeguard key labor protections. Real steps forward start with changes in the text, comprehensive labor law reform from Mexico and a strong implementation bill from the United States.

The Trump administration still has

 an opportunity to make that happen. We encourage the administration and Congress to continue working with us to deliver a fair and just agreement for working families. In addition to enforcement provisions, that means securing tools to combat outsourcing in key sectors such as aerospace, meat packing, food processing and call centers; tightening auto rules of origin; and eliminating rules that keep prescription medicine prices sky high and interfere with the creation of workplace safety and other public interest protections.

Working people have lived thr

ough the devastation of failed, corporate-written trade deals for too long. That’s why we will continue the fight for an agreement that creates good jobs and raises wages here at home while protecting the rights and dignities of workers across all borders.

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► From The Hill — Trump’s new NAFTA faces uphill battle in Congress — President Trump’s signing of a new trade pact with Canada and Mexico on Friday set the stage for a major fight next year with Democrats on Capitol Hill. Democrats mulling presidential runs in 2020, as well as labor and environmental groups, were already gearing up for a showdown with Trump over trade, and the revised NAFTA will give them an opening for a new line of attack.

► From Politico — Trump says he will withdraw from NAFTA, pressuring Congress to approve new trade deal — Trump said Saturday he intends to formally notify Canada and Mexico of his intention to withdraw from the nearly 25-year-old NAFTA in six months. The move would put pressure on Congress to approve his new trade deal with the two U.S. neighbors.