Laura Carlsen on Trilateral Summit

Laura Carlsen of Americas Policy Program in Mexico City provides some excellent insight on U.S.-Canada-Mexico discussions:

Dissecting the North American Summit Joint Statement: Bush's Last Stand
By Laura Carlsen

On April 22, Presidents George W. Bush, Felipe Calderon, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper concluded a trilateral summit in New Orleans. Check out the analysis "between the lines" that reveals what they are really talking about.

The summit marked the fourth meeting of the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), which has drawn fire in all three countries since its proceedings are not open to public participation or congressional oversight and working groups are made up only of government and large business representatives. The leaders' Joint Statement and press conference targeted the U.S. electoral process by responding directly to Democrats' recent criticisms of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the proposed Colombia Free Trade Agreement. The three leaders reiterated their unconditional support for NAFTA and the SPP, urged passage of the Colombia FTA, and argued for passage of the Plan Mexico aid package.

Laura Carlsen (lcarlsen(@)ciponline.org) is director of the Americas Policy Program in Mexico City (www.americaspolicy.org), our Mexico Blog is available at www.americasmexico.blogspot.com.

See full article online at:
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/5178

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