WASHINGTON - The first round of secret negotiations on a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in Washington, D.C. was expected to conclude yesterday, Sunday August 20.

This week, Friends of the Earth released a blog entitled: 10 ways that Trump’s new NAFTA threatens people and the planet.

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

How can Donald Trump justify a system in which major decisions about domestic public policy, including environmental policy, are made in secret? A renegotiated NAFTA will likely restrict our ability to safeguard farmers, children, food, air and water. As corporate lobbyists write the deal, the press and public are left in the dark.

As the first round of negotiations draw to a close, there can be no good defense to closed door negotiations. The self-interested corporate lobbyists have stolen away the public’s right to know and debate the future of trade with our closest neighbors.

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