Leaders of the US, Canada and Mexico will meet at the first summit since 2016 Business and Economic News

Joe Biden, President of the United States, Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, President of Mexico, will meet for the first time in five years in Washington, DC. economic integration, immigration and the pandemic.

President Joe Biden has revived the so-called Three Friends summit, which will be held in the White House on Thursday since 2016, when former President Donald Trump ended it.

“The Trump administration is trying to revive the three-party meetings that were taking place before it decided it was not interested in anything bilateral or multilateral, or at least the beginning,” said Tony Payan, director of the United Centers. States and Mexico Baker Institute.

“It is taking the place left by the Obama administration and that is trying to put a framework around the regional association between the US, Canada and Mexico,” Payan told Al Jazeera.

But analysts say tensions over Trump’s immigration policies and economic policies imposed on Mexico’s energy bill could carry a lot of weight in the talks.

Although the meeting aims to increase joint economic cooperation, Canada and Mexico are concerned about Biden’s “Buy American” provisions and the electric vehicle tax credit, which would benefit U.S.-based union manufacturers.

“This is a difficult situation because the Biden administration is now ready to promote chip manufacturing, electric cars, Americans buying and renting in the U.S., so the Biden administration is a little follow-up to the Trump administration,” Payan said. he said.

The U.S. is a major trading partner in Mexico and Canada, and cars and trucks are the top three best-selling manufactured products, said former Canadian diplomat Colin Robertson, now a think tank at the Global Affairs Institute in Canada.

“The North American automotive industry is highly integrated and is competing as a blockchain in the manufacture of a global electric vehicle. [EV] and the battery industry makes good economic sense for all three countries, ”Robertson told Reuters.

Both Canada and Mexico want to be on an equal footing as they compete to attract companies to set up factories EV supply chain.

But Biden’s social spending and climate bill, which is being considered in Congress, includes $ 12,500 in tax credits for electric vehicles made in the U.S., including $ 4,500 for union-made vehicles.

The United States is the main trading partner of Mexico and Canada, and cars and trucks are the best-selling manufactured products among the three countries. [File: Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo]

Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau In Washington, DC, he mostly told audience of college students on Wednesday that he was “concerned” about the proposed tax credits that could “have a real negative impact,” he said he would mention in meetings with U.S. Congress leaders.

This is another critical issue on the agenda immigration. The White House said it aims to create a “regional perspective on migration”.

Among the record levels of migrants arriving there Southern border of the US With Mexico, they are pushing for the US to do more in Mexico prevention of migrants, Mostly from Central America and the Caribbean, from reaching the border.

The US too It is based in Mexico to return asylum seekers who are being deported under 42. title, Trump enacted a health policy last year that allows border agents to return migrants to Mexico, citing the need to prevent the further spread of the pandemic.

This dynamic has given Mexico an exchange troop that Mexico can use as an option for Lopez Obrador to gain more concessions on its energy policies, Payan said.

“The main issue is Mexico’s role in cross-border migration, where the Lopez Obrador administration has appeared ready to act against the Biden administration,” Payan said. “They know Biden needs them.”

It is seeing a record number of migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border, mostly from Central America and the Caribbean, fleeing poverty and political instability. [Felix Marquez/AP Photo]

For Lopez Obrador, the meeting could be where Biden deals with Mexico conflicting bill changing the rules of the electricity market to give priority to private investment in the Mexican state electricity company.

On Wednesday, the Mexican president said he would explain the plan to Biden and Trudeau if it was created.

“It’s very simple,” Lopez Obrador said at a news conference. “We want to prevent energy prices from rising and end abuses by private companies, especially foreign companies.”

Lopez Obrador has argued that past governments have manipulated the market in favor of private interests. But the legislation has caught fire from the U.S. government and business groups, who are concerned that Mexico has failed to meet its trade obligations in North America.

Other issues to be discussed on Thursday are tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and fighting climate change together.