This year, for our annual breakfast, both Representative Adam Smith and Representative Pramila Jayapal gave us video clips commenting on the NAFTA renegotiations.
“The question is not are we for or against trade. The question is how do we structure trade deals that are actually beneficial to workers here and around the world and beneficial to our environment? And how do we ensure that we don’t make regulatory jurisdiction of localities on critical worker rights and environmental protections secondary to the seemingly exclusive profit-making goals of the largest corporations who seek to bypass any government regulations?” Watch the video here.
Very few people working in trade advocate for there to be no trade, but we do want to see trade done the right way–lifting up workers rights and environmental standards in all the countries that participate in an agreement while still giving sovereign governments the right to make decisions in favor of the well-being of their citizens.
“We need to renegotiate these trade agreements to better protect workers first and foremost. To have labor standards with the countries we trade with so we don’t have a race to the bottom.” Watch the video here.
As the NAFTA negotiating process continues, we’re pushing for stronger protections for workers in all three countries.
We’re grateful to have representatives speaking out on trade policy that will benefit people and the planet and help create a more fair, just, and sustainable world.
Recent Comments