Activist Toolkit to Defeat Trump’s NAFTA 2.0

The future of trade policy is up for grabs in 2019. Who will win: the “Corporations First” trade model of the past, Donald Trump’s xenophobic “America First” trade agenda, or our “People and Planet First” vision for trade? This high-stakes, high-profile fight is coming to Congress as our representatives decide whether or not to support Trump’s rebranded version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

We need your help to defeat this pro-polluter trade deal — a deal that would threaten our air, water, climate, and communities. A close look at the deal reveals that it would encourage further outsourcing of pollution and jobs, offer special handouts to corporate polluters, lock in fossil fuel dependency, and prolong Trump’s polluting legacy for years after he has left office.

The good news is that our broad movement can beat Trump’s NAFTA deal, just as we’ve beaten past pro-polluter deals, if we make our voices heard. This toolkit offers resources to do just that. Whether you want to contact your member of Congress, educate your community, speak up on social media, or otherwise take action, the materials below can support your efforts to defeat Trump’s NAFTA deal.  

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  • Talking Points on Trump’s NAFTA Deal: Check out this factsheet for the key points to mention about the deal when speaking with your community, the media, or policymakers.

 

NAFTA 2.0: A Bad Deal Then, A Bad Deal Now

For more than two decades, NAFTA has harmed communities across Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.— particularly people of color and low income families — by undermining environmental protections, eliminating jobs, increasing air and water pollution, eroding wages, and fueling climate change. As a leading environmental organization, the Sierra Club has long called for a fundamentally different approach to trade — one that prioritizes the needs of people and planet, not the profits of corporate polluters. We most recently fought alongside unions, farmers, indigenous peoples, and frontline communities across borders to defeat the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Seizing upon widespread opposition to such trade deals, Donald Trump made overhauling status-quo trade policy a key part of his campaign and in the summer of 2017, he launched a renegotiation of NAFTA. But Trump’s trade agenda was never based in concern for communities and our climate. Instead, Trump has used NAFTA’s renegotiation to inflame anti-immigrant hatred, claiming that his version of NAFTA will pay for his racist and destructive border wall with Mexico. Here’s the simple truth that Trump fails to grasp: NAFTA’s renegotiation is not a fight between the U.S. and Mexico. It’s a fight between corporations and the rest of us.

And it looks like Trump is on the side of the corporations. When the secret text of Trump’s NAFTA 2.0 deal was unveiled in the fall of 2018, it revealed a grab-bag of handouts to corporate polluters like Chevron and ExxonMobil. Little surprise that the oil and gas lobby immediately endorsed the deal, soon followed by the Chamber of Commerce and other corporate backers. Now these same corporate lobbies are spending millions to try to get Congress to pass the deal.

An analysis of the NAFTA 2.0 text reveals that the deal would encourage further outsourcing of pollution and jobs, lock in fossil fuel dependency, and extend Trump’s polluting legacy for years after he has left office. It not only fails to mention climate change – it would prolong NAFTA’s contribution to the climate crisis. Despite progress on a few fronts, the deal fails to adequately protect wildlife, clean air and water, or the health of communities that NAFTA has exposed to toxic pollution.

In some respects, the deal would offer even less environmental protection than past, polluter-friendly trade deals. In other respects, the deal poses even greater environmental threats than the original NAFTA. Taken as a whole, the deal falls far short of the minimum essential changes that leading environmental groups have outlined as necessary to halt NAFTA’s damage to our air, water, climate, and communities. For more information on what’s in the deal, see the videos, webinars, factsheets, and other materials in our online hub on Trump's NAFTA 2.0.

With the NAFTA 2.0 deal now coming to Congress, the Trump Administration wants a quick political victory. But they know that opposition to this deal will grow as the public learns what’s at stake. Now is the time for Sierra Club activists and our allies to feed the movement to defeat Trump’s NAFTA deal, just like we beat the the TPP. To lay the groundwork for a new, “People and Planet First” approach to trade, we must first persuade Congress to vote down this destructive deal.

On this page, you’ll find resources to educate yourself and your community about the #TrumpedUpNAFTA and how to plug into our plan to defeat it. If you have any questions or want to share how you’ll be involved, please reach out to our Living Economy Campaign Strategist Anthony Torres at anthony.torres@sierraclub.org.

How Activists Can Defeat Trump’s NAFTA

Congress will determine the fate of Trump’s NAFTA 2.0 deal. With Democrats now in control of the House of Representatives, several options are on the table, including voting down the deal or stonewalling it, so that it never gets a vote. Either option would effectively defeat the deal.

At the same time, members of Congress will be getting intense pressure from corporate lobbies to vote yes on the deal. We have to make sure that our voices speak louder than the corporations’ money. That’s where you come in. Here are six steps you can take to make sure Congress takes a stand against Trump’s NAFTA and for trade that puts people and planet first.

  1. Send a message to your member of Congress via our online action to let them know what you think about Trump’s NAFTA deal. This is also a way to join our list of NAFTA action takers and stay up to date on upcoming actions.

  1. Share our online action with your friends and neighbors to bring more people into this fight.

  1. Tweet at your member of Congress. It’s easy! Use this sample tweet and put it in your own words on your social media platforms.

  1. Call your member of Congress. Just call 855-980-2349, and feel free to use these talking points. We’ll also keep you posted about upcoming national call-in days to Congress if you sign up by using the online action in #1.

  1. Visit your member of Congress. Online tools and phone calls are powerful. But, nothing is more powerful than taking action in person! Click here to set up a meeting with your member of Congress on NAFTA, and click here for guidance on how to make it a successful visit.  Also, if you use the online action in #1, we’ll keep you posted about upcoming national advocacy days in which people across the country will visit their representatives to deliver the message to vote NO on Trump’s NAFTA deal.

  1. Ask your member of Congress a question at a local event.  By posing questions on NAFTA to your member of Congress at public events, you give them the opportunity to say where they stand, while letting them know where you stand. Below you’ll see a model question to ask. For added impact, record the question and answer on your phone, send the recording to anthony.torres@sierraclub.org and post it on social media with #TrumpedUpNAFTA and tag Sierra Club.

Town Hall Question: Trump’s NAFTA 2.0 deal fails to include strong environmental and labor protections while offering handouts to corporate polluters. It would encourage more outsourcing of jobs and pollution, keep medicine prices high, and contribute to climate change. Will you commit to voting against Trump’s NAFTA deal?

As we get closer to a potential vote, there will be many more opportunities to get involved. That’s why it’s so important to stay up to date by filling out our online action. We know repeated pressure and consistent action from constituents makes all the difference. And in the coming months, people from all walks of life and all parts of the country will be repeatedly raising their voices against Trump’s NAFTA deal. We hope you join us!