AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued the following statement ahead of Monday’s release of the U.S. Trade Representative’s objectives for renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement:
Working people have lived the failures of NAFTA, and President Donald Trump has made big promises to fix it. On Monday, we will find out if he truly means to make good on those promises or continue the same rigged rules written to benefit the wealthiest 1%.
Bold objectives that are beneficial to working families would include changes to labor and procurement rules, new rules to prevent currency misalignment and tax dodging and elimination of special legal rights and private courts for foreign investors. Small changes around the edges—or the insertion of disastrous Trans-Pacific Partnership provisions—are not acceptable and would be the ultimate in hypocrisy.
NAFTA needs to be completely rewritten, and the administration need look no further than working people on how to best do that. The president has a major opportunity in front of him, and working families will hold him accountable for the choices he makes.
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