Second Round of Secret NAFTA Negotiations Threaten Public Interest

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the second round of secret negotiations on a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) draws to a close in Mexico City today, it has been reported that Canadian negotiators have pushed for “regulatory review” language that threatens sensible food, biotechnology, and other environmental regulations.

Bill Waren, senior trade analyst at Friends of the Earth, issued the following statement in response:

Regulatory review based on the failed Trans Pacific Partnership and the harmful E.U.-Canada trade deals will stymie new public interest regulations before they can be proposed to the public.

All of this runs counter to the idea that deregulatory action should not be taken if the consequences are highly uncertain and potentially quite dangerous to the environment or our communities. If the leaks from this round are true, the breakdown of environmental safeguards in this potential agreement will put people, our food supply, and our planet at risk.

For more information, please see Friends of the Earth’s blog on how Trump’s new NAFTA threatens people and the planet and the joint statement of Friends of the Earth Mexico and Friends of the Earth, U.S. on NAFTA renegotiation.

Expert contact: Bill Waren, (202) 222-0746, [email protected]
Communications contact: Patrick Davis, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]