North American leaders have praised the ties, but have not resolved tensions Joe Biden News

Leaders in the United States, Canada and Mexico applauded the renewed cooperation after the first five-year summit, but the dire tensions over trade and immigration remained unresolved.

In Washington, DC, on Thursday, there was a meeting called “Three Friends” the first of its kind Since 2016, when Donald Trump took office as president after his suspension.

“We are strong in North America and seek to better build our communities, our infrastructure and our shared future as integrated partners,” said US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. joint statement after the summit.

They agreed to reunite next year, this time in Mexico.

Biden, who took office in January, has sought to re-emphasize strong relations with Canada and Mexico as part of a broader effort to rebuild alliances and Washington’s support for international organizations.

The three countries are linked by the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) free trade agreement, Which governs about $ 1.5 trillion a year in North American trade.

After the meeting, Biden said the range of challenges discussed could include tackling trade, migration, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic “if we take the time to talk together, working together.”

Trudeau called for “very strong ties” between the three countries, and Lopez Obrador applauded Biden’s commitment again, saying “our relations must always be based on respect.”

Unresolved tensions

Despite the positive statements, the meeting made little progress on a number of issues that continue to maintain relations as leaders. look for the bounce Trump from the rough years.

In addition to publicly clashing with Trudeau, Trump threatened to cancel the free trade agreement and set tariffs on Canada’s aluminum and steel.

He also declared a national emergency on the Mexican border and used a flamboyant and xenophobic language about undocumented migrants crossing the Mexican border, although he eventually created a working partnership with Lopez Obrador.

However, Canada and Mexico see echoes of Trump’s “America First” approach in some of Biden’s policies, particularly because he wants to revitalize the U.S. industrial sector.

Mexico and Canada have expressed alarm over a proposal by Biden tax credit Promoting the production of electric vehicles in the US. Cars and trucks are the best-selling manufactures among the three countries

On Thursday, Trudeau told reporters that Ottawa “will continue to do the work necessary not only to highlight our position but to seek solutions” after the summit did not make any changes to Biden’s plans.

Another sticking point for Biden is his “Buy American” policy for his federal government intention to replace its huge automobile fleet, which Canada has called disguised protectionism.

Mexican Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier, who attended the meetings on Thursday, had previously called on the US to abandon the “Buy American” agenda and instead focus on “Buy North American”.

Mexico-US relations

In a brief statement to reporters at a bilateral meeting between Biden and Lopez Obrador – the first since the U.S. president took office – the couple also said migration was one of the main issues being discussed.

The Biden administration has struggled to cope with one rise paperless border crossings. Mexico, meanwhile, has long complained that U.S. immigration policies place an undue burden on the authorities.

Speaking to reporters after the summit, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the U.S. had agreed to invest more in development in Central America and southern Mexico to create opportunities and halt migration. The Biden administration later confirmed the investment promotion, but did not specify the amount.

The White House later released a list of “deliverable keys” to the meeting, including agreements between Canada and Mexico to promote donations to the global vaccine effort, a North American plan to reduce methane emissions and a strategy to strengthen the three countries ’supply chain. weaknesses.

The leaders also pledged to ban imports of goods from forced labor, a policy targeted at China by the Biden administration. Activists and Western politicians accuse China of using forced labor in its western Xinjiang region, a denial that Beijing denies.