Thread: Trinational Call for a North American Economic and Security

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Trinational Call for a North American Economic and Security Community by 2010

Press Release: French | Spanish

March 14, 2005-Three former high-ranking government officials from Canada, Mexico, and the United States are calling for a North American economic and security community by 2010 to address shared security threats, challenges to competitiveness, and interest in broad-based development across the three countries.

Former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance John P. Manley, former Finance Minister of Mexico Pedro Aspe, and former Governor of Massachusetts and Assistant U.S. Attorney General William F. Weld make policy recommendations to articulate a long-term vision for North America in a Chairmen's Statement of the Independent Task Force on the Future of North America sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations in association with the Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales and the Canadian Council of Chief Executives.

Chief Executive of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives Thomas d'Aquino, President of the Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales Andres Rozental, and Director of the Center for North American Studies at American University Robert A. Pastor serve as vice chairs of the Task Force. Chappell H. Lawson, associate professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the director.

The statement was released in Washington, DC today in advance of the upcoming North American Summit on March 23 in Texas with President Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, and Mexican President Vicente Fox. It reflects the consensus of the chairs and vice chairs. In the spring, the Task Force will release its complete report, which will assess the results of the Texas summit and reflect the views of the full membership.

Findings and recommendations:

* Build a North American economic and security community by 2010. To enhance security, prosperity, and opportunity for all North Americans, the chairs propose a community defined by a common external tariff and an outer security perimeter.
* Create the institutions necessary for a North American community. The chairs propose annual summit meetings among the three countries and the creation of a North American Advisory Council to prepare for and implement the decisions made at the summits.
* Enhance North American competitiveness with a common external tariff. Over the last decade, nations around the world, from China to India to Latin America to the expanded membership of the European Union, have become increasingly integrated into the global market. To meet these challenges to North American competitiveness, the chairs recommend that the three governments negotiate a common external tariff on a sector-by-sector basis at the lowest rate consistent with multilateral obligations: "Unwieldy rules of origin, increasing congestion at ports of entry, and regulatory differences among the three countries raise our costs instead of reducing them."
* Develop a border pass for North Americans. The chairs propose a border pass, with biometric indicators, which would allow expedited passage through customs, immigration, and airport security throughout North America. "The governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States should commit themselves to the long-term goal of dramatically reducing the need for physical scrutiny of traffic, travel, and trade within North America."
* Adopt a unified Border Action Plan. The three governments should "strive toward a situation in which a terrorist trying to penetrate our borders will have an equally hard time doing so no matter which country he elects to enter first." First steps should include: harmonized visa and asylum regulations; joint inspection of container traffic entering North American ports; and synchronized screening and tracking of people, goods, and vessels, including integrated "watch" lists. Security cooperation should extend to counterterrorism and law enforcement, and could include the establishment of a trinational threat intelligence center and joint training for law enforcement officials. On the defense front, the most important step is to expand the binational North American Aerospace Defense Command to make it a multi-service Canada-U.S. command with a mandate to protect the maritime as well as air approaches to North America. Canada and the United States should invite Mexico to consider closer military cooperation in the future.
* Narrow the development gap with Mexico. While trade and investment flows have increased dramatically, the development gap between Mexico and its two northern neighbors has widened. "Low wages and lack of economic opportunity in parts of Mexico stimulate undocumented immigration, and contribute to human suffering, which sometimes translates into violence." Mexico must increase its rate of economic growth and decide on the steps it will take to attract investment and stimulate growth. As a matter of their own national interests, the United States and Canada should assist Mexico by establishing a North American Investment Fund, designed to channel resources for the purpose of connecting the poorer parts of the country to the markets in the north.
* Develop a North American energy and natural resource security strategy. Canada and Mexico are the two largest oil exporters to the United States; Canada alone supplies the United States with over 95% of its imported natural gas and 100% of its imported electricity. The three governments should expand and protect energy infrastructure, fully exploit continental reserves, conserve fossil fuels, and reduce emissions. "Regional collaboration on conservation and emissions could form the basis for a North American alternative to the Kyoto protocol."
* Deepen educational ties. "Given its historical, cultural, political, and economic ties, North America should have the largest educational exchange network in the world." To that end, the chairs recommend expanding scholarship and exchange programs, developing Centers for North American Studies in all three countries, and cross-border training programs for school teachers.

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Founded in 1921, the Council on Foreign Relations is an independent, national membership organization and a nonpartisan center for scholars dedicated to producing and disseminating ideas so that individual and corporate members, as well as policymakers, journalists, students, and interested citizens in the United States and other countries, can better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other governments.

The Mexican Council on Foreign Relations (COMEXI) is the only multi-disciplinary organization committed to fostering sophisticated, broadly inclusive political discourse and analysis on the nature of Mexico's participation in the international arena and the relative influence of Mexico's increasingly global orientation on domestic priorities. The Council is an independent, non-profit, pluralistic forum, with no government or institutional ties that is financed exclusively by membership dues and corporate support. The main objectives of COMEXI are to provide information and analysis of interest to our associates, as well as to create a solid institutional framework for the exchange of ideas concerning pressing world issues that affect our country.

Founded in 1976, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives is Canada's premier business association, with an outstanding record of achievement in matching entrepreneurial initiative with sound public policy choices. A not-for-profit, non-partisan organization composed of the chief executives of 150 leading Canadian enterprises, the CCCE was the Canadian private sector leader in the development and promotion of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement during the 1980s and of the subsequent trilateral North American Free Trade Agreement.

www.cfr.org

Task Force Urges Measures to Strengthen North American Competitiveness, Expand Trade, Ensure Border Security

May 17, 2005--North America is vulnerable on several fronts: the region faces terrorist and criminal security threats, increased economic competition from abroad, and uneven economic development at home. In response to these challenges, a trinational, Independent Task Force on the Future of North America has developed a roadmap to promote North American security and advance the well-being of citizens of all three countries.

When the leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States met in Texas recently they underscored the deep ties and shared principles of the three countries. The Council-sponsored Task Force applauds the announced "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America," but proposes a more ambitious vision of a new community by 2010 and specific recommendations on how to achieve it.

Pointing to increased competition from the European Union and rising economic powers such as India and China in the eleven years since NAFTA took effect, co-chair Pedro C. Aspe, former Finance Minister of Mexico, said, "We need a vision for North America to address the new challenges." The Task Force establishes a blueprint for a powerhouse North American trading area that allows for the seamless movement of goods, increased labor mobility, and energy security.

"We are asking the leaders of the United States, Mexico, and Canada to be bold and adopt a vision of the future that is bigger than, and beyond, the immediate problems of the present," said co-chair John P. Manley, Former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. "They could be the architects of a new community of North America, not mere custodians of the status quo."

At a time of political transition in Canada and Mexico, the Task Force proposes new ideas to cope with continental challenges that should be the focus of debate in those two countries as well as the United States. To ensure a free, secure, just, and prosperous North America, the Task Force proposes a number of specific measures:

Make North America safer:

* Establish a common security perimeter by 2010.
* Develop a North American Border Pass with biometric identifiers.
* Develop a unified border action plan and expand border customs facilities.

Create a single economic space:

* Adopt a common external tariff.
* Allow for the seamless movement of goods within North America.
* Move to full labor mobility between Canada and the U.S.
* Develop a North American energy strategy that gives greater emphasis to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases - a regional alternative to Kyoto.
* Review those sectors of NAFTA that were excluded.
* Develop and implement a North American regulatory plan that would include "open skies and open roads" and a unified approach for protecting consumers on food, health, and the environment.
* Expand temporary worker programs and create a "North American preference" for immigration for citizens of North America.

Spread benefits more evenly:

* Establish a North American Investment Fund to build infrastructure to connect Mexico's poorer regions in the south to the market to the north.
* Restructure and reform Mexico's public finances.
* Fully develop Mexican energy resources to make greater use of international technology and capital.

Institutionalize the partnership:

* Establish a permanent tribunal for trade and investment disputes.
* Convene an annual North American summit meeting.
* Establish a Tri-national Competition Commission to develop a common approach to trade remedies.
* Expand scholarships to study in the three countries and develop a network of Centers for North American Studies.

Co-chair William F. Weld, former Governor of Massachusetts and U.S. Assistant Attorney General, said, "We are three liberal democracies; we are adjacent; we are already intertwined economically; we have a great deal in common historically; culturally, we have a lot to learn from one another."

Organized in association with the Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales and the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, the Task Force includes prominent former officials, businessmen, and academic experts from all three countries. A Chairmen's Statement was released in March in advance of the trinational summit; the full report represents the consensus of the entire Task Force membership and leadership.

Chief Executive of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives Thomas d'Aquino, President of the Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales Andrés Rozental, and Director of the Center for North American Studies at American University Robert A. Pastor serve as vice chairs. Chappell H. Lawson, Associate Professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is director.

Building a North American Community: Report of the Independent Task Force on the Future of North America is available on the Council website.

Founded in 1921, theCouncil on Foreign Relations is an independent, national membership organization and a nonpartisan center for scholars dedicated to producing and disseminating ideas so that individual and corporate members, as well as policymakers, journalists, students, and interested citizens in the United States and other countries, can better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other governments.

The Mexican Council on Foreign Relations (COMEXI) is the only multi-disciplinary organization committed to fostering sophisticated, broadly inclusive political discourse and analysis on the nature of Mexico's participation in the international arena and the relative influence of Mexico's increasingly global orientation on domestic priorities. The Council is an independent, non-profit, pluralistic forum, with no government or institutional ties that is financed exclusively by membership dues and corporate support. The main objectives of COMEXI are to provide information and analysis of interest to our associates, as well as to create a solid institutional framework for the exchange of ideas concerning pressing world issues that affect our country.

Founded in 1976, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives is Canada's premier business association, with an outstanding record of achievement in matching entrepreneurial initiative with sound public policy choices. A not-for-profit, non-partisan organization composed of the chief executives of 150 leading Canadian enterprises, the CCCE was the Canadian private sector leader in the development and promotion of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement during the 1980s and of the subsequent trilateral North American Free Trade Agreement.
Members of the Independent Task Force on North America

Minister Pedro Aspe
(Mexican co-chair)
Protego

Mr. Thomas S. Axworthy
Queen's University

Ms. Heidi S. Cruz
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.

Mr. Nelson W. Cunningham
Kissinger McLarty Associates

Mr. Thomas P. d'Aquino
(Canadian co-vice chair)
Canadian Council of Chief Executives

Mr. Alfonso de Angoitia
Grupo Televisa, S.A.

Dr. Luis de La Calle Pardo
De la Calle, Madrazo, Mancera, S.C.

Professor Wendy K. Dobson
University of Toronto

Dr. Robert A. Pastor (U.S. co-vice chair)
American University

Mr. Andrés Rozental
(Mexican co-vice chair)
Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales

Dr. Richard A. Falkenrath
The Brookings Institution

Dr. Rafael Fernandez de Castro
Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México

Mr. Ramón Alberto Garza
Montemedia

The Honorable Gordon D. Giffin
McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP

Mr. Allan Gotlieb
Donner Canadian Foundation

Mr. Michael Hart
Norman Paterson School of International Affairs

Mr. Carlos Heredia
Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales

The Honorable Carla A. Hills
Hills & Company

Dr. Gary C. Hufbauer
Institute for International Economics

Dr. Luis Rubio
CIDAC

Dr. Jeffrey J. Schott
Institute for International Economics

Mr. Pierre Marc Johnson
Heenan Blaikie

The Honorable James R. Jones
Manatt Jones Global Strategies

Dr. Chappell H. Lawson (Task Force Director)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Honourable John P. Manley (Canadian co-chair)
McCarthy Tetrault

Mr. David McD. Mann
Cox Hanson O'Reilly Matheson

Ms. Doris M. Meissner
Migration Policy Institute

The Honorable Thomas M.T. Niles
Institute for International Economics

The Honorable William F. Weld (U.S. co-chair)
Leeds Weld & Co.

Mr. Raul H. Yzaguirre
Arizona State University

It seems to me that the main reason that our government is refusing to close the borders is because they plan on erasing them all together. The Free Trade Agreements being pushed are a major part in it.


We have had some success, but they will continue to push for it, we need to push back much harder in order to get these things stopped.

Originally Posted by jp_48504

It seems to me that the main reason that our government is refusing to close the borders is because they plan on erasing them all together. The Free Trade Agreements being pushed are a major part in it.

We have had some success, but they will continue to push for it, we need to push back much harder in order to get these things stopped.

Make room for NAFTA HWY!

I used to go to Canada on I69; it was only 45 minutes form my home, I just had to drive across a bridge and pass through customs. Several years ago they expanded I69 so that there are two bridges. One bridge is for those entering and one for those leaving. We don’t need a NAFTA/FTAA Highway because We the People want our country to keep its sovereignty.

Does anyone have the ability to convert a pdf document to word? I just got an email forwarded to me with a copy of Senator Elizabeth Dole's letter to the N.C Farm Bureau announcing her support for CAFTA.

JP--I don't, but try this....select all on the pdf document, copy to a blank word document. If should work. If you can not edit it, do this, go into the pdf file, hit send, then send it to yourself, then try to open it and see if the select all and edit functions work in the version you sent yourself.

Let me know if this works. Then you can copy and post to forum.

Mr. Raul H. Yzaguirre
Arizona State University

[/quote]

Raul H. Yzaguirre is the outgoing President of the:

National Council of La Raza

Hello........OBL!

Hello........La Reconquista!

Hello.......La Raza "the Race"

Good-bye.......USA



NAIL THESE SNAKES!!

They can not be allowed to win, or it is the end by Christmas 2005.

Keep Up the Good Fight!!

http://www.buydirectusa.com/links/article.php?n=22


Senator Elizabeth Dole's Letter to the N.C Farm Bureau Announcing Her Support for CAFTA
by Jim Palmer
June 01, 2005


I received this information via email. I was emailed a PDF copy of the letter which you can read here. It amazes me that anyone with a little knowledge of our trade deficit due to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA0 wouldn't realize that the Central Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), will only increase the trade deficit and cause more Americans to loose their jobs. At least now, I know why Senator Dole has not answered any of my emails regarding CAFTA. She supports it.

According to The Economic Policy Institute, the U.S. lost nearly one million jobs between 1993-2003. These jobs are gone forever. Some of the hardest hit states are New York, California, Michigan, Ohio, Florida and North Carolina. Yes, that's right the state that Senator Dole is supposedly representing has been negatively impacted by one failed trade agreement and she is actively supporting another one. Meanwhile our local news keeps reporting more textile and manufacturing jobs moving out of the state. Thanks for nothing Senator Dole.


I urge everyone to send Senator Dole a note letting her know how you feel about CAFTA. You can do so directly by going to http://capwiz.com. You can contact her office directly by phone or fax. More information can be found on her web site.


Washington DC Office
555 Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Ph: 202.224.6342
Fax: 202.224.1100
Web Site


Visit my web site and feel free to add your comments.

These jobs are gone forever. Some of the hardest hit states are New York, California, Michigan, Ohio, Florida and North Carolina. Yes, that's right the state that Senator Dole is supposedly representing has been negatively impacted by one failed trade agreement and she is actively supporting another one.

I guess Senator Dole figures that if the illegals are working then everything is fine.

We don’t need a NAFTA/FTAA Highway

NAFTA highway? We don't need no steenking NAFTA highway man