A new NAFTA? Not so fast!

​A new trade deal? Not without these non-negotiables
Just a few hours after we hit “send” on our our last e-news, the media reported that US-Mexico negotiations on NAFTA have resulted in a preliminary deal. 

From briefings with labor and trade experts, and statements from Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH and a leader on progressive trade issues), we have some hope that this new NAFTA will be an improvement over the old. 

But we know that multinationals will push hard against a better deal. And we still have demands:

• First, negotiated in secret, until the full text is released, we won't know for sure what's on the table. Three years ago, we joined with activists across the world for a release of the TPP text. NAFTA 2.0 is no different.
• Second, we need to ensure that Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) is out of NAFTA. Corporations are not entitled to their own court system. ISDS allows corporations to attack laws and regulatory decisions that protect the environment and climate, public health, the safety of water, and local economies and ask for sums far in excess of any actual business loss.
• Third, with the climate crisis upon us and millions of workers in low-wage jobs, we must have a trade agreement with strong and enforceable environmental and labor, and one that eliminates any other incentives to outsource jobs.

In our e-news, we included a link to a petition to Congress, demanding an end to ISDS and protection for jobs and environment. If you haven't signed, please do, and share with others who will. 

Remember that if in the end, this deal turns out to be any kind of improvement, it's not a gift from politicians, but the result of that huge popular pushback against the TPP here in the U.S. 

We blocked THAT bad deal and we can block one again if it does not put people and planet before corporate rule and corporate profits.