On first day of 115th Congress Rep. Kaptur calls for a new NAFTA that creates rising wages

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 3, 2017
Contact: Josh Stewart, (202)225-4146 or Joshua.Stewart@mail.house.gov  

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) stood with Democratic House colleagues and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and urged aggressive action to protect American workers and to call for renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). 

Statement from Kaptur:

“The new President has the right to withdraw from NAFTA on day one, and we want to help the President-elect create a fair trade deal that supports rising wages on all sides of the border. I have fought NAFTA since its inception, recognizing the imbalances its passage foretold and the labor, economic, and environmental abuses it would only exacerbate. We should be doing everything we can to ensure we protect all workers – from the steelworkers in Lorain to the migrant workers picking tomatoes.

“The 2016 election was the first time trade was elevated to such a pivotal issue in a presidential election. I look forward to the opportunity to work with the incoming Administration to modernize America’s trade policies, so they result in job gains and market growth for the United States and that support balanced trade accounts instead of a widening gulf of deficits.

“A new NAFTA must result in American jobs that rest on our closely held values of ‘Free and Fair Trade among Free People.’ If a renegotiated NAFTA does not end with these results, America must withdraw.”

Kaptur is actively involved in defending and fighting for the 21st Century Workers’ Bill of Rights which she urged should be included in any new or updated trade agreements.

Click here to watch Kaptur’s full remarks at today’s press conference.

Rep. Kaptur on January 3, 2017, with House Democratic colleagues and Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO

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