A broken border in the American Southwest. Loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs to Mexico. Suppressed wages. An increasingly unpopular North American Free Trade Agreement. A proposed NAFTA super highway creating a de facto North American Union.
All of these issues, plus the overarching question of national sovereignty, were placed on full display yesterday as leaders from the U.S., Mexico and Canada converged on New Orleans to partake in the fourth North American summit some fear is a veiled attempt to further integrate the three nations into an economic union modeled of its European counterpart.
President George W. Bush joined Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the Big Easy for the two-day summit held to further advance the work undertaken by the trilateral Security and Prosperity Partnership, created in 2005 to minimize bureaucratic red tape and increase cooperation among the three nations.
In terms of an agenda, Dan Fisk, NSC Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs, told reporters last week, “The five priorities are, first, enhancing global competitiveness; second, smart and secure borders; third, sustainable energy and environment; fourth is safe food and products; and the fifth is emergency management and preparedness.”
In regards to the issues of trade and intercontinental relations between the three countries, the White House has faced growing opposition from the conservative wing of the president’s party and blue collar Democrats.
As Mr. Bush arrived in the Crescent City, a coalition of conservatives led by Howard Phillips held a press conference challenging the president’s attempt to economically integrate the three nations. Mr. Phillips’ efforts to protect U.S. sovereignty and resist a North American Union are supported by Reps. Tom Tancredo and Ron Paul, to name a few.
Responding to the concerns of workers and locked in a bitter primary battle, both Democratic candidates have publicly condemned free trade-deals, thus making trade among the three nations a top priority at the summit. The three heads of state will most likely attempt to change the perception NAFTA was an economic disaster.
Collectively speaking, the three nations in North America form the world’s largest trading block, as trading among the three nation amounts to $930 billion annually. In explaining “North America 101” to reporters, Mr. Fisk noted Canada is the U.S’s largest trading partner and Mexico is our third.
With the U.S. dollar steadily sinking and the U.S. facing a recession, many Americans have increased their criticism of free trade agreements, arguing such agreements have cost U.S. jobs. In Pennsylvania, a study by the Alliance for American Manufacturing found NAFTA cost Pennsylvania 44,173 jobs from 1993-2004; roughly 4,016 a year.
Despite the fact that her husband, then-President Bill Clinton signed NAFTA, Hillary Clinton has increased her opposition to the 1994 trade deal, as well as other free trade measures.
“As smart as my husband is, he does make mistakes,” Mrs. Clinton stated while campaigning in Pittsburgh last week. “We've now had 15 years of experience with NAFTA, and the evidence is clear that we have to change the basic provisions.” This is the sentiment the White House hopes to combat.
“The North American relationship works. We believe it works well for all three countries, but we also believe we can make it work better,” White House spokesman Tony Fratto stated during a press gaggle last week.
