Nancy L. Johnson: “Let me just mention that one of the big issues in the NAFTA negotiations was the failure of Mexico to enforce their own…”

“Let me just mention that one of the big issues in the NAFTA negotiations was the failure of Mexico to enforce their own labor laws. They look good on paper, but they did not enforce them, and we have learned something from those NAFTA negotiations. In those negotiations we made what is called a side agreement, and as a result of that, Mexican investment in enforcement of their own labor laws has increased 250 percent. In other words, we forced them to try to start enforcing their own laws, which were good on paper and lousy in reality, and in this new fast track authority we specifically include the right for the United States to negotiate the enforcement of domestic laws in labor and environment because lots of countries have good-sounding laws, but they do not enforce them, and that does make it harder for us to compete. So we have now expanded this negotiating authority to include enforcement of domestic laws because we did learn from those negotiations in Mexico the need for that breadth.”