Mexico City. The North American Leaders Summit was reactivated yesterday at the White House after having suffered a prolonged five-year hiatus imposed by then-President Donald Trump.
Three were the vectors built for the Summit in which the presidents of Mexico and the United States, Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Joe Biden, and the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau participated: joint efforts to mitigate the effects of the pandemic Covid-19 and promoting global health; promote competitiveness and create the conditions for equitable growth and; coordinate a regional response to migration.
Economic integration, with respect to our sovereignties, is the best instrument to face the competition derived from the growth of other regions of the world ”.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador, President of Mexico.
And regarding the necessary strengthening of regional integration, the foreign minister indicated: “an idea of a common vision of North America is reinstated.”
President López Obrador read a speech during the opening event where he addressed the three vectors, however, he gave an important relative weight to trade, highlighting the strategic value that the integration of the three countries means to face competition from abroad, mainly China. “Economic integration (…) is the best instrument to face the competition derived from the growth (…) of China,” said the Mexican president.
The harsh environment between the United States and China was assimilated in the elaboration of President López Obrador’s speech, which meant a gesture for the American. AMLO projected for the year 2051 a complex panorama for the region if it does not react jointly: “(…) In another 30 years (…) China would dominate 42% of the world market and we, the United States, Mexico and Canada would keep 12 percent ”.
In the midst of this projection, the Mexican president predicted that this scenario “could endanger us all” because “it would keep alive the temptation to bet on solving this disparity with the use of force.”
In the migratory vector, President López Obrador dedicated another flower to President Biden, pointing to him as the first US president “in history” who “has manifested (…) such a clear and unequivocal commitment to improve the situation of migrants ”.
Commitments
The White House issued a statement displaying the commitments arising from the Summit. In health matters, several elements stand out. One of them is that Canada and Mexico will pay doses of vaccines to the United States to donate them to Caribbean countries; shore up medical supply chains with a view to manufacturing vaccine components and other public health supplies in the North American region; and they will work together to increase commitments to improve the global distribution of Covid-19 vaccines in the UN mechanism known as COVAX.
In economic matters, the commitments point towards the strengthening of supply chains in North America through the creation of a trilateral coordination mechanism, with the objective of defining the essential industries to eradicate future interruptions; The three countries are committed to strengthening the ties of small and medium-sized enterprises by connecting SME centers in the region and there are also commitments to eradicate counterfeit products in commerce.
We have to end the pandemic and take decisive action to stop the climate crisis. “
Joe Biden, President of the United States.
All three countries are committed to promoting good regulatory practices to achieve lasting growth that provides more transparency, inclusion and accountability.
In labor matters, they undertake to protect labor rights and to prohibit the importation of goods produced with illegal or forced labor.
The three countries will hold a meeting of cyber experts to prevent the problems that the issue represents in this century and promote an open and secure internet.
Climate change
The effects of climate change are here to stay, for some time, that is what the three leaders hope. To do this, they commit to mitigate methane and carbon to decrease methane emissions in all sectors, especially oil and gas. They will develop strategies to reduce black carbon from diesel vehicles and engines.
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard indicated that the United States could develop a program that “he would call Sembrando Oportunidades, which is what AMLO has been proposing regarding Central America, mainly, and southern Mexico.” The White House calls for the three countries to end deforestation.
More integration
The diversity and quantity of issues addressed through the commitments reflect a highly integrated region with a long way to go together. The media pressures of the respective countries reflect the diversity of agendas; For example, in Mexico the issue of energy reform is being debated with a political tone, however, the T-MEC would be the mechanism that should be at the center of the discussion.
For Canada, the subsidies that President Biden wants to grant to incentivize the electric car industry is a matter of concern. Also the T-MEC is the instrument that will resolve the differences.
For now, the North American Leaders Summit has been reborn and has a geopolitical vision. And in 2022 it will be based in Mexico City.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx