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Bush, Fox, Martin Agree to Increase Trade, Security (Update2)
March 23 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S., Canada and Mexico pledged to coordinate regulations and border controls to increase economic growth on the continent through trade and migration while boosting security.
At a meeting held at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, U.S. President George W. Bush said he, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and Mexican President Vicente Fox agreed to work on streamlining the border crossing process for travelers and goods and stepping up security for aviation and shipping.
``We've got a lot of trade with each other and we intend to keep it that way,'' Bush, 58, said at a news conference today, flanked by Fox and Martin. The three men agreed to ``outlast'' political differences that have arisen, Bush said.
Bush also promised to renew his efforts at overhauling U.S. immigration law, creating a guest worker program. ``I will push our Congress to come up with common-sense, rational policies.''
``Today, we begin a new phase'' of cooperation to achieve ``objective balance'' between security and ``an agile flow'' of goods and people, Fox, 62, said. ``North America should be the most competitive region in the world and the safest region in the world,'' he said through an interpreter.
``We cannot be complacent,'' said Martin, 66. ``The economic powerhouses of China and India are rising.''
Cooperation
They promised new avenues of cooperation to make societies safer, business more competitive and economies more resilient, the leaders said in a joint statement, before they convened a lunch meeting at Bush's ranch in nearby Crawford, Texas.
Putting aside some thorny disputes over trade and immigration, Bush, Martin and Fox signed an accord called the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America.
The North American leaders said the partnership would boost border security through common inspection rules at frontiers, bio- protection plans, and uniform responses in case of an emergency. There would be added security steps in the aviation and maritime industries, and more intelligence sharing.
On trade and the continental economies, the leaders pledged to develop more uniform regulations throughout the three countries in the areas of energy, financial services and technology to speed the movement of goods and services.
The governments cited cross-border electronic access to stock exchanges and improved insurance coverage in commerce as services they would help facilitate.
Setting Goals
All of this would be accomplished through the creation of a ministerial-led group that will set ``specific, measurable and achievable'' goals, a joint statement said. A preliminary report from the ministers is due in 90 days.
At stake is U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico, which totaled $712.7 billion for all of 2004, Commerce Department figures show, or almost one-third of U.S. trade worldwide worth $2.289 trillion. The U.S. buys about 85 percent of the exports of both Mexico and Canada, including oil, auto parts and other manufactured products from both nations.
``I'm not sure this new proposal will fix things in the short run,'' said Mickey Kantor, former U.S. trade representative and Commerce secretary under President Bill Clinton. Still, it may help stem illegal immigration, and ``begin to raise wage rates, labor rates in Mexico, so people won't find it necessary to immigrate into the U.S. illegally,'' he said in an interview.
Security
James Carafano, a national security analyst at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said more uniformity on border crossings and drug fighting will help trade and security.
``The biggest problem is the legal structure at the border, and U.S.-Canada trade is outpacing the ability of the border to handle it,'' he said. ``The best way to keep the bad guys out is keep the bad guys out of Canada, and I think Canada gets that.''
Martin, during the news conference said the trio is ``getting rid of nuisance regulations'' partly because of the ``threat of rising economies elsewhere.''
The meeting comes amid a raft of trade spats and diplomatic friction between the U.S. and Canada. Mexico and Canada opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the subsequent war forced Bush to focus his attention on the Middle East.
Canada refused to take part in a planned ballistic-missile defense system after a personal appeal by Bush during his visit to Ottawa in November. Martin, who favored such a plan before becoming prime minister, reversed course because of opposition from Liberal Party members and polls showing public disapproval.
Trade
A four-year-old trade spat over Canadian exports of softwood lumber used in home building has festered, and tensions have deepened because of the U.S. Senate's vote March 3 to block a U.S. plan to resume imports of Canadian cattle, because of concerns about mad cow disease.
Fox pressed for easier immigration policies that Bush has been unable to deliver because of opposition from his fellow Republicans in the U.S. Congress. Bush wants an immigration overhaul that would increase the number of guest worker visas available to Mexicans.
``There are some million people a day crossing the border from Mexico to the United States, which presents a common issue, and that is, how do we make sure those crossing the border are not terrorists or drug runners or gun runners or smugglers?'' Bush said.
The administration proposed in January 2004 an overhaul that says if there's an opening for a job an American doesn't want to take, the job should be filled by a legal immigrant.
Bush said the U.S. ``ought to have a policy that does not jeopardize those who've stood in line trying to become legal citizens.'' He said the best way to enforce border security ``is to be compassionate and decent about the workers who are coming here to the United States.''
Fox got a promise from Bush to ``push our Congress to come up with rational, common-sense immigration policy,'' but Bush said, ``You don't have my pledge that Congress will act.''
North America, as seen from spaceAmerican President George Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, and Mexican President Vicente Fox met at Baylor University in Waco, Texas on Wednesday. The leaders discussed cooperation in the areas of border security, trade, and immigration, signing an accord called the "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America."

"In a rapidly changing world, we must develop new avenues of cooperation that will make our open societies safer and more secure, our businesses more competitive, and our economies more resilient," read a joint statement released by the three leaders.

The agreement calls for greater sharing of intelligence and the strengthening of infrastructure security. It also seeks to develop a common system for screening travellers, and promotes collaboration in the sectors of transportation, energy, technology, and financial services.

Each nation will set up ministerial-level working groups that will "set specific, measurable, and achievable goals and implementation dates" and "identify concrete steps the governments can take to achieve these goals," according to a White House press release. The initial reports are due within 90 days.

President Bush, while not offering specific details, also said that he would "continue to push for reasonable, common-sense immigration policy with the United States Congress."