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More Than Backpedaling on NAFTA

A bizarre meeting on the "Future of North America" was scheduled to take place on November 2 and 3. Members of the newly created, self-appointed "Commission on North American Prosperity" would have gathered in Toronto. Amazingly, the meeting was considered a "summit," even though none of the presidents slated to lead it are sitting presidents. There was George H.W.
Posted in Economy/Trade, nafta

Lack of North American Leadership

Times of crisis require bold leadership and innovative solutions. Crises demand the casting aside of old, failed paradigms and the mobilization of people to create new ones.

Exactly the opposite happened when the leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States met in Guadalajara from August 9-10. Presidents Calderon and Obama and Prime Minister Harper spoke in generalities, avoided conflict and controversy through evasion, and repeated the formulaic proposals of a discredited past.

Posted in Economy/Trade, nafta, mexico

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2009
1:19 PM

CONTACT: Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA)

Phone: (202) 223-4975
Email: coha@coha.org

Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Could Be a Lose-Lose Deal

* The Canadian Parliament is on the verge of passing a free trade measure with Colombia * The trade deal faces staunch opposition from human and labor rights bodies

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Colombia could potentially exacerbate flagrant current human rights abuses in the country

WASHINGTON - May 1 - Just a few hours prior to meeting his counterparts from all over the Western Hemisphere at the recently concluded Summit of the Americas, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper reaffirmed Canada’s newfound commitment to the region, most clearly reflected in the newly signed free-trade deals with Peru and Colombia. On March 26, the Canadian government submitted legislation to the House of Commons that would implement the Canada-Colombia Free Trade, Labor Cooperation and Environment Agreements. Ottawa is confident that Parliament will ratify the treaties as early as June.
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Founded in 1975, the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA), a nonprofit, tax-exempt independent research and information organization, was established to promote the common interests of the hemisphere, raise the visibility of regional affairs and increase the importance of the inter-American relationship, as well as encourage the formulation of rational and constructive U.S. policies towards Latin America.
Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) Links:
Posted in ccfta, Economy/Trade, nafta, canada, colombia

Mexico’s Swine Flu and the Globalization of Disease

Mexico has long been considered the laboratory of globalization. Now a potentially deadly virus has germinated in that laboratory, finding ideal conditions to move quickly along a path toward global pandemic.

Posted in globalization, nafta, neoliberalism, public health

Obama in Mexico: More Rhetoric for Change

US President Barack Obama at a press conference in Mexico City on April 16, 2009. Obama has backed Mexico's war on its violent drug cartels in a first stop on a four-day trip to Latin America, calling for a crackdown on weapons trafficking and admitting shared responsibility (AFP/File/Luis Acosta)

MEXICO CITY - Reiterated promises of cooperation and respect marked U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Mexico Thursday. But activists and analysts from both countries told IPS that there have been enough words and that it is time for concrete action from Washington.

In his first visit as president to a Latin American country, Obama said the two countries are united by common opportunities and challenges in trade, the environment and development of border areas, and urged the media not to just focus on drugs and immigration in the U.S.-Mexico relationship.

Posted in foreign policy, immigration, nafta, obama, mexico

Nationalizing Troubled Banks May Be the Only Answer

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivers remarks at a luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington, February 18, 2009.(Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

WASHINGTON - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan thinks it's necessary. His successor, Ben Bernanke, doesn't rule it out. From editorial pages to the blogosphere to boardrooms, this is the question on many minds: Should the United States nationalize some banks?

Posted in financial crisis, nafta

Obama and NAFTA

Will he or won't he?

In the shadow of the economic crisis, a war of words rages over whether President-elect Barack Obama will hold to his campaign promise of opening up the North American Free Trade Agreement for renegotiation.

Posted in Economy/Trade, global trade, nafta
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