Posted on 03/30/2006 8:33:34 AM PST by SBD1
Pointing to increased competition from the European Union and rising economic powers such as India and China in the eleven years since NAFTA took effect, co-chair Pedro C. Aspe, former Finance Minister of Mexico, said, "We need a vision for North America to address the new challenges." The Task Force establishes a blueprint for a powerhouse North American trading area that allows for the seamless movement of goods, increased labor mobility, and energy security.
Task Force Urges Measures to Strengthen North American Competitiveness, Expand Trade, Ensure Border Security May 17, 2005 Council on Foreign Relations
May 17, 2005--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.
Pointing to increased competition from the European Union and rising economic powers such as India and China in the eleven years since NAFTA took effect, co-chair Pedro C. Aspe, former Finance Minister of Mexico, said, "We need a vision for North America to address the new challenges." The Task Force establishes a blueprint for a powerhouse North American trading area that allows for the seamless movement of goods, increased labor mobility, and energy security.
"We are asking the leaders of the United States, Mexico, and Canada to be bold and adopt a vision of the future that is bigger than, and beyond, the immediate problems of the present," said co-chair John P. Manley, Former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. "They could be the architects of a new community of North America, not mere custodians of the status quo."
At a time of political transition in Canada and Mexico, the Task Force proposes new ideas to cope with continental challenges that should be the focus of debate in those two countries as well as the United States. To ensure a free, secure, just, and prosperous North America, the Task Force proposes a number of specific measures:
Make North America safer:
Establish a common security perimeter by 2010.
Develop a North American Border Pass with biometric identifiers.
Develop a unified border action plan and expand border customs facilities.
Create a single economic space:
Adopt a common external tariff.
Allow for the seamless movement of goods within North America.
Move to full labor mobility between Canada and the U.S.
Develop a North American energy strategy that gives greater emphasis to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases -- a regional alternative to Kyoto.
Review those sectors of NAFTA that were excluded.
Develop and implement a North American regulatory plan that would include "open skies and open roads" and a unified approach for protecting consumers on food, health, and the environment.
Expand temporary worker programs and create a "North American preference" for immigration for citizens of North America.
Spread benefits more evenly:
Establish a North American Investment Fund to build infrastructure to connect Mexico's poorer regions in the south to the market to the north. Restructure and reform Mexico's public finances. Fully develop Mexican energy resources to make greater use of international technology and capital. Institutionalize the partnership:
Establish a permanent tribunal for trade and investment disputes.
Convene an annual North American summit meeting.
Establish a Tri-national Competition Commission to develop a common approach to trade remedies.
Expand scholarships to study in the three countries and develop a network of Centers for North American Studies.
Co-chair William F. Weld, former Governor of Massachusetts and U.S. Assistant Attorney General, said, "We are three liberal democracies; we are adjacent; we are already intertwined economically; we have a great deal in common historically; culturally, we have a lot to learn from one another."
Organized in association with the Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales and the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, the Task Force includes prominent former officials, businessmen, and academic experts from all three countries. A Chairmen's Statement was released in March in advance of the trinational summit; the full report represents the consensus of the entire Task Force membership and leadership.
Chief Executive of the Canadian Council of Chief ExecutivesThomas d'Aquino, President of the Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales Andrés Rozental, and Director of the Center for North American Studies at American University Robert A. Pastor serve as vice chairs.Chappell H. Lawson, Associate Professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is director.
Building a North American Community: Report of the Independent Task Force on the Future of North America is available on the Council website.
SBD
SBD
Everything is included in that list except the new currency that would be for use only in this trading sphere.
No dallah, no peso, no loonie but one regional currency.
Wonder why they left that out?
I think I figured out what happaned to Atlantis - it did not sink under the water or was buried in an earthquake. It simply became part of the greater middle east and since every standard was lowered - it being great - simply ceased to exist.
Cancer kills. The host always, sooner or later dies.
Sounds like the European Unionizing of North America. Should the US, Canada, and Mexico adopt a common currency, too?
I'm pretty much convinced of the same thing without their report.
Why not start taking over more of northern Mexico? Mexico City can't control it and the people living there seem more interested in getting into the US. Let's bring the United States to them.
Hmm, did they leave out somebody in this "economic triad?"
Mexico obviously has no national pride - in their own country. Their national pride seems to be based on grabbing what isn't theirs.
Yanked many chains lately? ;)
That's exactly what it is: the creation of a "Greater North America" to compete with the EU -- using U.S. capital and entrepreneurship, natural resources from Canada, and Mexican labor.
"Spread benefits more evenly:"
Sounds kinda ominous, no?
Yeah, it sounds pretty damn communist to me. What do they want to turn us into? The North American Union as oppose to the European Union?
And with hundreds of these Marxist minions in appointed government positions surrounding the president, they will likely have their way for a while longer.
Hee hee..... hahahahaha.....chortle chuckle.....wheeze cough.....
Mexico City alone accounts for over a quarter of the nation's population. The rest seem to be in and around tourist cities. Poor people in the north are not a priority for politicians.
"IOW, raise Mexico from it's current 2nd rate status.
It makes sense to have good cooperative relationships with our two largest trading partners."
Unless Mexico gets a complete overhaul, the corruption will be ten times worse under this plan. The Mexican way of Government has to be changed.
I say "No thanks".
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.