Can NAFTA Be Renegotiated?
Over a thousand people protested outside the North American Summit. They were kept at a distance. Police cordoned off several blocks around the meeting to prevent any uncomfortable contact between the leaders and their subjects. Relegated once again to the sidelines, environmental, fair trade, and labor organizations called for renegotiation of NAFTA. By law, there’s no question that NAFTA can be renegotiated. The citizen movements and unions that demand renegotiation of NAFTA aren’t asking for an end to international trade. They ask that government incentives to move production overseas be eliminated and that economic sectors that can’t compete on the international market but are vital in generating decent jobs be given a chance to survive. Now, with the crisis, citizens in all countries have increased the demand for governments to adopt more local development and social programs of the kind prohibited under the competition and privatization terms of NAFTA. Each country in the NAFTA a
