NAFTA 2.0: Renegotiated NAFTA—What can we mean?

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) asserts that NAFTA has historically expanded resource-intensive industries and weakened regulations through investor protections. In Mexico, this has led to increased factory farming, toxic pollution from maquiladoras, and extensive mining activities. In Canada, the agreement's proportionality clause has supported the expansion of tar sands oil and other carbon-intensive energy. CIEL advocates for a new trade system that eliminates fossil fuel subsidies, removes the investor-state dispute settlement system, and prioritizes the precautionary principle and climate safeguards.

• NAFTA has facilitated environmental degradation in Mexico through the increase of factory farms using more water and pesticides, the expansion of mining activities using explosives and toxic substances, and the proliferation of maquiladoras which are a "major source of toxic pollution and hazardous waste".
• The agreement has promoted carbon-intensive energy in Canada via a proportionality clause that requires Canada to maintain a fixed share of oil and gas exports to the US, which supports the growth of tar sands oil and can limit the government's ability to implement environmental regulations.
• Chapter 11 of NAFTA allows foreign investors to sue countries to protect profits, which CIEL claims has been used to "undermine existing environmental, health, and labor regulations" and discourage the creation of new ones.

APA

Kistler, A. (2017). NAFTA 2.0: Renegotiated NAFTA—What can we mean? Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/nafta-2-0-renegotiated-nafta-mean-can/

Chicago

Kistler, Amanda. NAFTA 2.0: Renegotiated NAFTA—What can we mean? Center for International Environmental Law, 2017. https://www.ciel.org/nafta-2-0-renegotiated-nafta-mean-can/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Kistler |first1=Amanda |title=NAFTA 2.0: Renegotiated NAFTA—What can we mean? |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=18 May 2017 |url=https://www.ciel.org/nafta-2-0-renegotiated-nafta-mean-can/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{kistler2017nafta, author = {Kistler, Amanda}, title = {{NAFTA 2.0: Renegotiated NAFTA—What can we mean?}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2017}, month = may, url = {https://www.ciel.org/nafta-2-0-renegotiated-nafta-mean-can/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }