USW: Rules of Origin Provision Critical in NAFTA Renegotiations

CONTACT: Wayne Ranick: (412) 562-2444, wranick@usw.org

The United Steelworkers union (USW) released the attached document today identifying its position on rules of origin in the ongoing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations.  

Rules of origin are a critical part of the renegotiations and identify the percentage of content that must be included in products to be eligible for trade benefits. 

News reports indicate that NAFTA negotiators will begin addressing this topic at the next round of negotiations which takes place Sept. 23-27.

The existing NAFTA rules of origin were negotiated more than a quarter century ago and do not reflect current economic reality and sourcing patterns.

The current rules allow for significant amounts of content from outside of North America to be included in a product but still be eligible for the trade agreements’ benefits. Other countries, like China, have been able to ship increasing amounts of products into North America to the detriment of production and employment in North America.

The attached proposal would strengthen the rules and ensure that a new agreement promote growth and opportunity for those covered by the agreement.

To read the USW’s proposal, click here.

The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in many industries that include metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service and public sectors. For more information: http://www.usw.org/.

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