DeLauro Calls on President-Elect Trump to Increase Transparency, Create Jobs, through NAFTA Renegotiations
WASHINGTON, DC (January 3, 2017) — Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today wrote to President-elect Donald Trump asking him to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement to produce an agreement that will create American jobs, grow wages, and serve the public interest. DeLauro’s letter comes on the same day she joined House Democrats and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka to discuss changes to NAFTA that Trump must consider during any renegotiation.
“NAFTA renegotiation could provide an opportunity to create a new trade model that can deliver benefits to more Americans. However, both the process of negotiations and the contents of the agreement must change,” wrote DeLauro. “The needs of working people and their communities must come before the priorities of the special interests that now dominate U.S. trade policymaking.”
“This will require more transparency. The negotiations for past pacts were dominated by hundreds of official corporate advisors, while the public and Congress have been shut out. To deliver a deal that is much better for working people, the current corporate advisory system must be replaced with a public process, including hearings, to formulate positions and obtain public comment on draft and final U.S. proposals,” continued DeLauro. “Negotiating texts also must be made publicly available after each negotiating round, with opportunity for public comment. Strict conflict of interest rules for negotiators must be enforced.”
Within a NAFTA renegotiation, DeLauro also called on Trump to eliminate carve outs for corporate interests, NAFTA’s job offshoring incentives, and waivers for Buy American and buy local procurement preferences. DeLauro further called on Trump to ensure that NAFTA contain enforceable disciplines against currency manipulation, changes to the agreement’s agricultural terms, and strongly enforced labor and environmental standards.
The full letter is available here.
###