Building a North American Community

Building a North American Community

Chairs:	John P. Manley Pedro Aspe William F. Weld
Vice Chairs:	Thomas P. D'Aquino Andres Rozental Robert A. Pastor

Task Force Members

Council on Foreign Relations Press

May 2005

175 pages
ISBN 0876093489
$15.00
Task Force Report No. 53

• English version (295K PDF)
• French version (378K PDF)
• Spanish version (338K PDF)

Overview

Press Releases: English | French | Spanish

Sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations in association with the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and the Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales.

North America is vulnerable on several fronts: the region faces terrorist and criminal security threats, increased economic competition from abroad, and uneven economic development at home. In response to these challenges, a trinational, Independent Task Force on the Future of North America has developed a roadmap to promote North American security and advance the well-being of citizens of all three countries.

When the leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States met in Texas recently they underscored the deep ties and shared principles of the three countries. The Council-sponsored Task Force applauds the announced “Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America,” but proposes a more ambitious vision of a new community by 2010 and specific recommendations on how to achieve it.

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Building a
North American
Community

Report of an
Independent Task Force
Sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations

At their meeting in Waco, Texas, at the end of March 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush, Mexican President Vicente Fox, and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin committed their governments to a path of cooperation and joint action.We welcome this important development and offer this report to add urgency and specific recommendations to strengthen their efforts.

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In March 2005, the leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States adopted a Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP), establishing ministerial-level working groups to address key security and economic issues facing North America and setting a short deadline for reporting progress back to their governments. President Bush described the significance of the SPP as putting forward acommon commitment ‘‘to markets and democracy, freedom and trade, and mutual prosperity and security.’’ The policy framework articulated by the three leaders is a significant commitment that will benefit from broad discussion and advice. The Task Force is pleased to provide specific advice on how the partnership can be pursued and realized.

To that end, the Task Force proposes the creation by 2010 of a North American community to enhance security, prosperity, and opportunity. We propose a community based on the principle affirmed in the March 2005 Joint Statement of the three leaders that ‘‘our security and prosperity are mutually dependent and complementary.’’

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The three governments should approach continental issues together with a trinational perspective rather than the traditional ‘‘dual-bilateral’’ approach that has long characterized their relationships.

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Establish a common security perimeter by 2010. The governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States should articulate as their long-term goal a common security perimeter for North America.

Develop a North American Border Pass. The three countries should develop a secure North American Border Pass with biometric identifiers.

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WHAT WE SHOULD DO BY 2010

• Lay the groundwork for the freer flow of people within North America. The three governments should commit themselves to the long-term goal of dramatically diminishing the need for the current intensity of the governments’ physical control of cross-border traffic, travel, and trade within North America. A long-term goal for a North American border action plan should be joint screening of travelers from third countries at their first point of entry into North America and the elimination of most controls over the temporary

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Law Enforcement and Military Cooperation

Security cooperation among the three countries should also extend to cooperation on counterterrorism and law enforcement, which would include the establishment of a trinational threat intelligence center, the development of trinational ballistics and explosives registration, and joint training for law enforcement officials.

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Increase information and intelligence-sharing at the local and national levels in both law enforcement and military organizations. Law enforcement cooperation should be expanded from its current levels through the exchange of liaison teams and better use of automated systems for tracking, storing, and disseminating timely intelligence. This should be done immediately.

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Enhance the capacity of the North American Development Bank (NADBank).NADBank was conceived to support environmental infrastructure projects within 100 kilometers on both sides of the Mexican-U.S. border. After a slow start, NADBank has done importantwork over recent years, and itsmandate has been expanded recently to cover 300 kilometers into Mexico. However, to achieve its full potential, the U.S. and Mexican governments should (1) expand NADBank’smandate to include other infrastructure sectors, particularly transportation; (2) permit it to access domestic capital marketsand apply credit enhancementtools; (3) support the establishment of revolving funds through both grants and soft loans throughout its jurisdiction; and (4) strengthen its technical assistance programs to promote good governance and creditworthiness of communities and public utilities.

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WHAT WE SHOULD DO NOW

Adopt a common external tariff. We recommend that the three governments harmonize external tariffs on a sector-by-sector basis, to the lowest prevailing rate consistent with multilateral obligations.

Review those sectors of NAFTA that were excluded or those aspects that have not been fully implemented. Each of the three countries decided to exclude unilaterally certain sectors and issues from NAFTA.

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Establish a permanent tribunal for North American dispute resolution. The current NAFTA dispute-resolution process is founded on ad hoc panels that are not capable of building institutionalmemory or establishing precedent,may be subject to conflicts of interest, and are appointed by authorities who may have an incentive to delay a given proceeding. As demonstrated by the efficiency of the World Trade Organization (WTO) appeal process, a permanent tribunal would likely encourage faster, more consistent, and more predictable resolution of disputes. In addition, there is a need to review the workings of NAFTA’s dispute-settlement mechanism to make it more efficient, transparent, and effective.

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WHAT WE SHOULD DO BY 2010

Establish a trinational competition commission. Once the three governments have concluded the resource accord described above and phased in the suspension of antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings for all sectors, they should also establish a trinational commission—a continental anti-trust agency—to address harmful subsidy practices, to promote healthy competition, and to protect against predatory pricing. At the same time, they should develop shared standards for identifying and responding collectively to unfair trade practices by parties outside North America.

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The three leaders highlighted the importance of addressing this issue at their March 2005 summit in Texas. The Security and Prosperity Partnership for North America they signed recognizes the need for a stronger focus on building the economic strength of the continent in addition to ensuring its security. To this end, it emphasizes regulatory issues. Officials in all three countries have formed a series of working groups under designated lead cabinet ministers.

WHAT WE SHOULD DO NOW

Ensure rapid implementation of the North American regulatory action plan. Businesses and other stakeholders must work closely with governments in all three countries to identify opportunities for early action in individual sectors and longer-term process issues whose resolution could have a major impact in improving North American competitiveness and enhancing the protection of people and the environment

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A long-term goal should be to create a ‘‘North American preference’’—new rules that would make it much easier for employees to move and for employers to recruit across national boundaries within the continent. This would enhance North American competitiveness, increase productivity, contribute to Mexico’s development, and address one of the main outstanding issues on the Mexican-U.S. bilateral agenda. Canada and the United States should consider eliminating restrictions on labor mobility altogether and work toward solutions that, in the long run, could enable the extension of full labor mobility to Mexico as well.

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WHAT WE SHOULD DO NOW

• Expand temporary migrant worker programs. Canada and the United States should expand programs for temporary labor migration from Mexico. For instance, Canada’s successful model for managing seasonal migration in the agricultural sector should be expanded to other sectors where Canadian producers face a shortage of workers and Mexico may have a surplus of workers with appropriate skills. Canadian and U.S. retirees living in Mexico should be granted working permits in certain fields, for instance as English teachers.

• Implement the Social Security Totalization Agreement negotiated between the United States andMexico.

WHAT WE SHOULD DO BY 2010

Move to full labor mobility between Canada and the United States. To make companies based in North America as competitive as possible in the global economy, Canada and the United States should consider eliminating all remaining barriers to the ability of their citizens to live and work in the other country.

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WHAT WE SHOULD DO NOW

An annual North American summit meeting.

A North American Advisory Council. To ensure a regular injection of creative energy into the various efforts related to North American integration, the three governments should appoint an independent body of advisers. This body should be composed of eminent persons from outside government, appointed to staggered multiyear terms to ensure their independence.

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A North American Inter-Parliamentary Group. The U.S. Congress plays a key role in American policy toward Canada and Mexico, and conducts annual meetings with counterparts in Mexico and in Canada. There is currently no North American program. Bilateral inter-parliamentary exchanges can suffer fromlimited participation, especially by the most influential legislators. The Task Force recommends that the bilateral meetings occur every other year and that the three North American partners form a trinational interparliamentary group to meet in the alternating year. The North American Advisory Council could provide an agenda and support for these meetings. To engage senior members of the parliaments, cabinet members could participate when the agenda matched their area of responsibility.

Conclusion

The global challenges faced by North America cannot be met solely through unilateral or bilateral efforts or existing patterns of cooperation. They require deepened cooperation based on the principle, affirmed in the March 2005 joint statement by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, that ‘‘our security and prosperity are mutually dependent and complementary.’’

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