Cindy Carr, cindy.carr@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Yesterday, the Trump administration signed a tentative deal with Mexico and Canada to make revisions to Trump’s NAFTA 2.0. While details of the deal are still pending, a factsheet from the House Ways and Means Committee indicates that the deal’s core environmental failures have not been resolved.
See here for a detailed analysis of the deal’s apparent environmental failures, based on the Ways and Means summary.
The Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, and Natural Resources Defense Council sent a letter to Congress Monday vowing to oppose any deal that does not make the specific, minimum changes that environmental groups have consistently called for. Unless those changes are made, the deal would encourage further outsourcing of pollution and jobs, offer handouts to notorious corporate polluters, undermine the Paris Climate Agreement, and cement Trump’s polluting legacy.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
"The Sierra Club opposes any deal that perpetuates NAFTA’s legacy of helping corporations dump pollution, outsource jobs, and undermine climate action.
“In the year since Donald Trump first announced his pro-polluter NAFTA 2.0 deal, he has repeatedly refused to make essential changes that Democrats and the environmental community have consistently called for to protect our climate, air, water, and communities.
“While we are still awaiting details, today’s deal appears to fall far short of the fundamental changes that Democrats and environmental groups have consistently said are needed to curb NAFTA’s environmental damage. A deal that fails to include binding climate standards would undercut our historic fight to tackle the climate crisis. A deal that fails to include meaningful limits on air and water pollution would encourage more corporations to dump their pollution in border communities and outsource jobs. A deal that offers handouts to corporate polluters would prolong Trump’s polluting legacy well after he is out of office. After 25 years of NAFTA’s damage, our communities cannot afford or accept another pro-polluter deal.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.