Drop in on the 17th to your Representative's district office, or take action any time during the Congressional Thanksgiving Recess

On Friday, November 17, your Representative returns for the Thanksgiving Congressional Recess. We are asking you to invite friends, maybe from groups you work with, to join you in a visit to your Rep's District Office that day to talk about NAFTA renegotiation. If November 17 is not convenient for you, the recess runs through November 27.

This mobilization coincides with the first day of the next round of NAFTA negotiations taking place in Mexico City, and in solidarity with the “Inter-Continental Days of Action on NAFTA.” 

Alliance for Democracy asks you to please deliver these two items
to your Representative…

● This letter with Citizen’s Trade Campaign’s NAFTA demands. Please edit the template letter to add your Congress member’s name and Washington office address, and your contact information.

● A factsheet about NAFTA’s impacts on your state. Click here for “50 Reasons Why We Need to Replace NAFTA.” On the map, click on your state and then click on the statement or statements that pop up for a link to a detailed factsheet. These well-researched handouts give you the information to talk effectively about local and state impacts that must not be repeated in NAFTA-2. 

● Here’s a general NAFTA factsheet to keep your Representative well informed.

We are at a crossroads. NAFTA renegotiation is moving rapidly. The outcome could still go in multiple directions.

We must push Congress members to support OUR DEMANDS for a NAFTA replacement, while we can make a difference. If our demands are not met, we will work to defeat a TPP-style NAFTA-2 that is worse than NAFTA-1. We want:

√  ISDS secret trade courts eliminated

√  Enforceable labor and environmental standards: TPP must not be the basis for NAFTA-2

√  Release draft chapter texts now. 

Corporate lobbyists are demanding the renegotiation deliver a TPP-style NAFTA 2.0 that would be worse for people not just in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, but across the planet. Meanwhile, there are proposals on ISDS (the secret trade courts), labor rights, environmental protections, Buy Local/Buy American, and possible sunset or 5-year review of NAFTA. Some proposals have been tabled by negotiators from one or another of the NAFTA countries. The prospect of a US NAFTA withdrawal by Trump hangs over the negotiations.

Mexico’s President wants negotiations completed by March 2018 to avoid NAFTA being a contentious topic in the country's presidential election, which takes place in July. Remember, we defeated the TPP by delaying negotiations into the 2016 election year.

Here are excellent summaries of where negotiations stand to date: “NAFTA Talks:  What’s the Deal?” and “NAFTA Talks Falter: Time to Increase Pressure,”  and a Citizen Trade Campaign’s Letter to President Trump Detailing Civil Society NAFTA Demands.

It's possible that you might be able to make an appointment with your member of Congress or with an aide, but if not don't be deterred from a quick visit on the 17th. Show up, be friendly, introduce yourself and ask if you can speak to your Representative or to the District Director. Bring the letter and relevant fact sheets, stress your demands for an end to ISDS, enforceable and strong labor and environmental standards, and a release of the text.

Here are some more office visit tips. Don't forget to take pictures—share them online if you're a social media user, and email them to us at afd *at* thealliancefordemocracy *dot* org, and to photos *at* citizenstrade *dot* org. Then let the Citizens Trade Campaign know how the meeting went by filling out this online form. Groups working nationally and in district on trade justice will use the information you report to plan next steps in the campaign.

Thank you for taking action!

Nancy Price and David Delk, Co-Chairs

It looks like the 11 remaining TPP countries may be trying to revive the deal, more or less. But if it remains a "dockable" agreement, in that other countries can sign in after the original nations ratify it, it may not be the kind of agreement that US-based corporations want.

For instance, New Zealand's new Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden, is already claiming the deal is "a damned sight better." She's an opponent of Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), a mechanism that allows foreign corporations to sue a nation in order to overturn domestic laws or regulatory decisions that infringe on the corporation's "right" to profit. ISDS was one of the aspects of the TPP that both left and right in the US and elsewhere rightfully objected to. While Arden may not be able to keep ISDS out of the CPTPP, she has said she will push for recognized side agreements between countries that will say that there will be no ISDS cases brought against either nation. 

Electronic Frontier Foundation has also taken a look at what a new-ish TPP might mean for intellectual property, if the US is in or out of a final agreement. What the US negotiators wanted was far more extreme than what other countries called for, so it's not a surprise that that chapter is now on hold. EFF rightfully notes, however, that there is still much to object to in the chapters that remain, and that any negotiations from here on need to be conducted with much more transparency than the ones for the original TPP.

Meanwhile Vox offered this extremely shallow look at what's happening. Granted, Vox is an opinion site and not a news site, but jeez louise, guys! There is a much better story that needs to be covered, instead of this "Twilight of the Meritocracy/I Should Have Gone to B-School in Berlin" twaddle, and it's this: What kind of trade does the rest of the world think it needs? What kind of trade is fairer and are these countries turning to their people more and to multinationals less in an attempt to deliver? What kind of trade policy is more in line with the continued economic and social health of developed democracies--a type of nation that the US just isn't, despite having so many noisy gazillionaires. With US mainstream media both partisan and unable to see past pro-corporate business as usual, we'll have to count even more on international and alternative media to follow what's going on, and to figure out what this all might mean for our own trade justice work.

​If July 4th left you hankering after some real democracy, come make the connections, hear the ideas, and share the skills that will invigorate your movement-building at the Democracy Convention III, August 2 – 6, at the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis. 

The Alliance for Democracy will be there, organizing the Earth Rights and Global Democracy Conference linking global work to defend Mother Earth and the rights of communities and ecosystems to thrive and survive to the issues important to us in the US, such as: fair trade, water, food and agriculture, climate.

Read the Earth Rights and Global Democracy statement here. AfD’s Co-chair, Nancy Price is organizing a series of panels. Here’s a partial list of Convention presenters; the full program will be posted soon. 

Here’s just a taste of the Earth Rights & Global Democracy panels: the Renegotiating NAFTA panel will add a gender and racial justice analysis; and panels on the false solutions to global warming of cap and trade and carbon tax, stopping GE Eucalyptus forests slated for our southeastern states responsible for the terrible fires in Chile and Portugal, on bottled water,  frac-sand mining and more. 

Ronnie Cummins, International Director of the Organic Consumers Association, will speak on “Connecting the Dots: Bringing the Food, Climate, Natural Health and Democracy Movements Together in a Powerful Force for Revolution.” The great line-up of Convention Plenary speakers will be posted soon. 

Earth Rights and Global Democracy is one of eight distinct, yet interrelated conferences at this third Democracy Convention. You can also connect with Representative Democracy, Racial Justice for Democracy, Peace and Democracy, Media Democracy, Education United for Democracy, Democracy and the Constitution, and Community and Economic Democracy. In addition, two tracks, on Overcoming Oppression, Building an Inclusive Movement, and Skills and Arts provide a toolkit for activists seeking to broaden their allies and impact. 

Register Now: The Democracy Convention website has all the information you need on registration, lodging and meals (including affordable options on campus), and getting to and from Minneapolis. You can also donate or sponsor the convention. 

As conference organizers at the 2013 and 2015 conventions, we are excited to be working again with so many sharp and committed people. Previous conventions were a tremendous coming-together of activists across the issues and the miles. 

We look forward to seeing you again – this time in Minneapolis, August 2 – 6. Look for our table! 

The clock is ticking on NAFTA renegotiation, and as with the TPP, grassroots pressure on Congress is essential if we are going to have a trade agreement that improves on the original text. 

There are a lot of ways that a new NAFTA could be made worse, but for the purposes of asking for your Congress members' support for a better deal, there are four items that we must all demand:

● No Investor-State-Dispute-Settlement provisions (ISDS),
● Protect important “Buy American” and “Buy Local” public procurement preferences,
● Include much stronger and enforceable labor, environmental, and public health standards in the agreement itself, and
● Be negotiated in a democratic, accountable and transparent process.

Now is the time to start getting allies together for a visit with your member of Congress during the August recess. Start with three easy steps:

1) Think about local allies whom you can reach out to. Some constituents groups will be on the right side of this issue already, and already active. Those groups will include labor unions and labor councils, and some national groups that were actively opposed to the Trans Pacific Partnership, such as Electronic Frontier Foundation or the Sierra Club. Other, newer, post-election grassroots groups might need you to provide some background on the trade justice fights of the last few years but would likely be your allies. You might also make local contacts through the National Farmers Union or your local organic farming association. Local peace groups and immigrant rights organizations are also good prospects. Make contact and invite them to join in a constituent visit. 

2) Let your Representative's district office know that you'd like an appointment. You will probably want to ask for a half-hour of time for your group to state your case, drop off relevant materials, and answer any questions that your Representative or his/her staff might have. If your Representative was a strong opponent of the TPP and can be trusted to advocate for workers and the environment in a new NAFTA agreement, you may only need time to say "thanks for your good work—please make this issue a priority this term!" 

3) Show that you represent a broad constituency. Signatures on these postcards emphasize that trade is an issue for voters in your Representative's district. Print some out from this file for tabling and canvassing, and keep a few with you at all times to get signatures from friends. Don't be shy. Trade is a transpartisan issue and you will find Democrats, Republicans, and independent voters all supportive of good trade policy, though sometimes for different reasons, including jobs, the environment, and the threat ISDS poses to national sovereignty and local decision-making.

Outreach, setting a date, and showing support will put you in good shape for a Congressional visit during the recess. Start now to make an impact! 

Recently, the ​office of the US Trade Representative solicited public commentary on NAFTA renegotiation. Both the national Alliance for Democracy and the Alliance's Portland Chapter submitted statements.

The Portland Alliance statement reads:

As the US begins to re-negotiate NAFTA, the Alliance for Democracy in Portland, Oregon requests that negotiations be public, and transparent, and  benefit all people in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.  The negotiations must be open, public and transparent. Any negotiations which is done by the 500 corporate trade advisers only will be rejected by the people. Representative of the people must be present, participating fully and have a meaningful part of all negotiations. They must not be excluded from any talks, even if the talks are not about the environment or labor. The people's representatives must be on an equal footing with the corporate representatives.  
  
Negotiations which happen behind closed doors are undemocratic and will result in an agreement which benefits those behind the doors, not the people of our three nations. The result of any such negotiations will be rejected by the people.  
  

• The negotiations objectives must 
• Address the needs of the people for a healthy environment, addressing the causes and effects of climate change,  with the goal of reducing carbon in the environment and eliminating the use of fossil fuels and encourage the use of renewable non-nuclear energy sources,  
• Address the need for equality among people by including enforceable labor standards in the agreement itself and provisions which reduce dramatically the income and wealth gaps among the peoples of our three nations and within each nation, and  
•  Enhance democracy and democratic practices by removing Chapter 11 in its entirety. Chapter 11 provides for secret trade tribunals to settle “trade” disputes filed by multi-national corporations against national governments. 

  
It is not our belief that NAFTA can be renegotiated and achieve our objectives. In fact, we must repeal NAFTA. And then if we need to establish new tariffs or quotas in order to facilitate trade among our nations,  then new treaties should be negotiated and approved in the Senate according to our Constitution.  

The national Alliance submitted the following: 

NAFTA renegotiation presents an opportunity to fix a flawed trade deal, but only if the US Trade Representative and the White House are determined to stand up for jobs, environmental protection and climate stability, small farms and food safety, and the rights of nations, states, and municipalities to regulate corporate activity to protect public health, natural resources, in particular our surface and groundwater sources on which all life depends, and local economies. 

The Alliance for Democracy stands with other civic, environmental, consumer and labor organizations to demand that a new NAFTA incorporate the following changes:

• Eliminate Investor State Dispute Settlement provisions that allow corporations to attack ordinances and regulatory decisions before secret tribunals.
•  Add binding labor, wage and environmental standards to a new NAFTA, including requirements and mechanisms for enforcement. Eliminate rules that incentivize offshoring jobs.
• Include robust, binding and enforceable standards for food, product, and transportation safety, requiring imported goods and transport to meet the highest domestic standards.
• Include protection for "buy local" and "buy American" ordinances, which protect and strengthen national and local economies.
• Eliminate agricultural rules that harm small farmers and the local food systems that they support. 
• Most importantly, negotiations should be transparent, and drafts of agreements available for public and congressional examination. 
• Finally, a revamped NAFTA should not be passed by Congress under expedited Trade Promotion Authority, or Fast Track rules, but instead should be fully examined, deliberated, and debated by Congress and the public before it goes to a vote.

NAFTA has resulted in the direct loss of almost 1 million jobs in the US, as certified by the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program. In addition it has displaced millions of Mexican farmers and workers, and locked Canada into climate and environmentally-damaging fossil fuel export quotas. What has been a boon for multinational corporations has been a bust for US workers and for the cities and towns that once dominated US manufacturing.

None of this has surprised the many millions of Americans who were opposed to NAFTA when it first passed, and have been working to block subsequent multinational trade deals, including the Multinational Agreement on Investments, the Free Trade Area of the Americas, and the Trans Pacific Partnership, ever since. 
We are not "anti-trade." But we are completely opposed to any trade policy that privileges corporate profits over the lives and well-being of citizens and the communities in which they live and work, or the ecological systems that sustain all life. 
​
NAFTA renegotiation represents a chance to affirm the importance of jobs, local economies, strong communities, and the environment, and to be a model of what a "fair trade" agreement can do.

With the TPP temporarily defeated, the Boston-area activists formerly known as "No TPP Boston" have renamed themselves Greater Boston Trade Justice. 

The group will be visible at many upcoming events, including the Tax Day March on April 15, and the March for Science on April 23. Look for them and sign a postcard to Donald Trump demanding that NAFTA be replaced, not renegotiated: No ISDS or investor-state protections, robust and enforceable protections for the environment, climate, workers and food safety, protect and expand "Buy American" provisions.

GBTJ is also planning a town hall forum on NAFTA and immigration in Boston in May, and will be working with a community arts center in Central Massachusetts on a NAFTA talk focusing on the loss of manufacturing jobs in factory and mill towns throughout New England.

The group's "Bad Trade Kills Jobs No TPP" highway banner has been rolled up for now but pictures of their summer standouts have been incorporated in a presentation on US grassroots trade activism which will be given in Germany this spring.