December 15, 2016 File No.: 10107-01-2016
To: Canadian Council
Greetings:
RE: Labour’s Views on Renegotiating NAFTA
The election of Donald Trump on November 8, 2016 has serious ramifications for Canadian trade policy given his promise to tear up NAFTA. Canadian and Mexican officials have responded to this uncertainty by indicating that both governments would be willing to engage a Trump administration in renegotiating NAFTA.
For Canada, topics of interest that are likely to be on the table include softwood lumber, temporary movement of professionals, country of origin labelling, and environmental and safety standards.
We are asking affiliates to consider the implications of NAFTA renegotiations for your members, and to let us know what you think the risks and opportunities are for labour. For example, we could push to eliminate the undemocratic investor-state dispute mechanism in NAFTA, or work to include enforcement mechanisms in the labour and environment side agreements. Or, international unions may have cross-border agreements in place that would be negatively affected by a Trump presidency’s priorities. We would appreciate receiving your replies no later than January 23, 2017.
We are also planning to gather union researchers and civil society allies for a discussion on labour’s progressive vision for international trade and investment on January 24, 2017. Please let us know if you are able to send a representative from your organization to this meeting.
For further information, please contact Angella MacEwen in the CLC’s Social and Economic Policy Department (613-526-7412 or amacewen@clc-ctc.ca).
In solidarity,
Hassan Yussuff
President