LABOR/NAFTA/TRADE DEALS: “U.S. labor union leaders and Democratic lawmakers on Monday [7-17-17] reminded U.S. President Donald Trump they expect him to keep election campaign promises to protect American workers in NAFTA talks, but they stopped short of demanding termination of the 1994 trade pact with Canada and Mexico.
Their comments came hours before U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was to outline the administration’s priorities for the talks. Under U.S. ‘fast-track’ rules, the administration must release the priorities 30 days before negotiations begin.
President Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO, an umbrella organization of unions representing 12.5 million workers, said the North American Free Trade Agreement had been an ‘unequivocal failure’ and should be completely renegotiated.
‘We will do everything we can to make this a good agreement and to hold the president at this word and make sure we get a renegotiation,’ he told a conference call with reporters.”
-Lesley Wroughton, “Labor unions, Democrats pressure Trump ahead of NAFTA priorities statement,” Reuters, July 17, 2017 11:03am