Think quick - what's the first word that comes to mind when I say "NAFTA"? Ohio... Pennsylvania... election... job losses (okay, that's two words)... manufacturing... Mexico... bitter....
How about "environment"? Probably not. But today, Earth Day 2008, is a perfect opportunity to meld these two hot topics. On the campaign trail, Sens. Clinton and Obama have both advocated that NAFTA be renegotiated to include tougher environmental standards. What does this mean exactly?
NAFTA was the first trade agreement that explicitly linked trade to the environment. In 1992, Presidential candidate Bill Clinton took issue with the agreement's weak environmental provisions. NAFTA ultimately included a side agreement - the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation - that required each country to enforce their own environmental laws and the creation of a tripartite environmental protection commission. At the time, NAFTA was praised for taking a most "green" approach to trade.
Since 1994, however, NAFTA's environmental standards have lagged behind those in US free trade agreements. Environmental standards are now incorporated into the core agreement, creating more effective means of enforcement. This is what Sens. Clinton and Obama seek in a renegotiated NAFTA.
If NAFTA is actually renegotiated -- and that is a HUGE if -- would moving core standards into the body of the agreement really address the serious environmental issues shared by Canada, the United States, and Mexico? At least with respect to the U.S. and Mexico, mechanisms are already in place for bilateral cooperation, such as the Border Environmental Cooperation Commission, the North American Development Bank, state and local governments, and NGOs. This is a question I think deserves more clarification, at least from the Democratic candidates.
Amid the Pennsylvania Primary madness, Clinton and Obama released statements on Earth Day, as did Sen. McCain. No matter what happens with NAFTA, today I congratulate all three candidates for including the environment in their plans for a new governing agenda.
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