As expected, a weekend summit among the leaders of the U.S., Canada and Mexico yielded no concrete measures on trade. The U.S. and Mexico did discuss their ongoing dispute over access for Mexican trucks but there was no indication as to when or how the two sides might resolve it. A joint statement following the meeting focused primarily on the need for further trilateral cooperation on trade and economic issues.
With respect to trade, President Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon pledged to “abide by our international responsibilities and avoid protectionist measures.” They also reiterated their commitment to “reinvigorate our trading relationship and to ensure that the benefits of our economic relationship are widely shared and sustainable.” The three leaders sidestepped the issue of a possible renegotiation of NAFTA to include enforceable provisions on labor and the environment, saying instead that they will engage in a “continuing dialogue to address the functioning of the Labor and Environmental side agreements.” The joint statement cited work in a number of other trade-related areas as well, including modernizing border infrastructure to facilitate trade and the smooth operation of supply chains, strengthening the resilience of critical infrastructure, cooperating in the protection of intellectual property rights and reducing unnecessary regulatory differences.
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