US Talks Trade with Canada, Mexico
Monday, Apr. 21, 2008 By AP/BEN FELLER
(WASHINGTON) — President Bush, joining the conservative leaders of Canada and Mexico for one final time, is eager to expand a trading relationship that has been lucrative for the United States and both of its neighbors. But he is up against rising anti-trade sentiment.
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Bush joins Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Monday in New Orleans for his fourth and final North American Leaders' Summit. Despite its lofty name, the two-day meeting is more about technical cooperation than dramatic dealmaking.
If there is to be one prevailing issue on the agenda, it will be trade. The three countries already share the largest trading partnership in the world, totaling nearly $1 trillion a year. Heading into the meeting, Bush said he plans to talk to Harper and Calderon about expanding trade in the Western Hemisphere.
The timing comes as the United States is mired in an economic slide, and many displaced workers and labor leaders blame trade for shipping jobs overseas. A particular political target is the North American Free Trade Agreement, which turned the U.S., Mexico and Canada into a giant trade zone 14 years ago.
Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have both threatened to pull the U.S. out of NAFTA as a means to pressure Canada and Mexico to negotiate more protections for workers and the environment. Bush calls the idea isolationist and reckless.
He sees trade with friendly nations as essential to economic growth and national security. He and his counterparts are expected to use the platform of the New Orleans summit to defend NAFTA. And Bush, frustrated by a stalled free-trade deal with Colombia, will again urge Congress to put it to a vote.
This year's meeting has the intended twist of giving an economic and symbolic boost to the host city.
Almost 32 months after Hurricane Katrina struck, New Orleans is recovering with uneven success from the most brutal natural disaster in U.S. history.
Most of Bush's time will be spent in a hotel and a historic former city hall in the Central Business District, out of sight from the residential areas hit hardest by Katrina. His agenda includes a few events of local flavor, but they are secondary to diplomatic talks.
Bush has no plans to tour hurricane-damaged neighborhoods on this trip, his 16th to the Gulf Coast region since Katrina hit in August 2005.
But he will discuss recovery efforts and the challenges that remain at least twice: in comments to business executives Monday night, and at a Tuesday lunch with community leaders that will include his new Gulf Coast recovery chief, retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Doug O'Dell.
Bush's pro-trade message is up against a tough audience at home. His public approval rating dipped to a new low, 28%, in an Associated Press-Ipsos poll this month. Only 27% are happy with his job in handling the economy.
Bush's agenda starts Monday with the reopening of the Mexican consulate in New Orleans; the Mexican government had closed it in 2002 to save money. Then come separate meetings with Calderon and Harper.
At night, the three leaders will have a dinner with an intentionally open agenda. The topics are likely to range from conditions in Cuba to the Mideast peace process.