WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden and Canadian leaders and Mexico played the bond near them on Thursday at the first North American regional summit since 2016, but tensions for trade and immigration hid in the background.
This is the first to be called the “Three Amigos” summit since the arrival of Donald Trump 2017 in the White House.
Following the game plan he had used with allies of Europe and Asia, Biden wanted to restore normal to a three-way partnership among giant partners, which formed the USMCA free trade block.
“We can fulfill all the challenges if we take the time to talk to each other, by working together,” Biden said, while Trudeau recorded three countries “very strong bonds.”
Previously, in one-on-one meeting with Trudeau, Biden said the US-Canadian bond was “one of the easiest relations we have.”
And Lopez Obrador, in a separate bilateral meeting, praising what he said was the Biden approach, by saying “our relationship must always be based on respect.”
Lopez Obrador said he was grateful that Mexico was no longer “seen as the United States backyard.”
– Immigration is not resolved –
In addition to hostile in public with Trudeau, Trump threatens to leave a free trade agreement and impose tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel.
He also stated the national emergency on the border of Mexico and used the burning language about illegal immigrants, even though he finally faked the partnership that worked with Lopez Obrador.
But only because the trump’s presidency was up to the end, it did not mean the problem he was released was gone.
In echo from the ideology of “the first American” Trump, Biden tried to revive the US industrial bases that struggled, especially in clean energy markets and electric vehicles that appear rapidly, which caused friction with neighbors.
Mexico and Canada are worried about the Biden proposal for tax credit that encourage our production of electric vehicles, such as strong Hummer All-Electric, President Test driving during a visit to the General Motorbike factory in Detroit on Wednesday.
Another sticky point is the “buying American” policy of Biden for the federal government when shopping for a large car fleet – Something Canada said it was not recorded protectionism.
“We will talk about it,” Biden said when he began his meeting with Trudeau.
Deputy Press Secretary White Chris Meagher defends Biden, saying that he always campaigned about increasing Union’s work and beyond that, “there will be enough opportunities” to work with Canada and Mexico on regional economic growth.
One regional problem where the White House sought cooperation was completing a crippling hiccup in the supply chain, a Senior Biden Administration official said.
And to the south, Mexico is still under pressure to help resolve immigration chaos that is politically explosively on the South US border.
Where Trump changed the fight against illegal immigration to one of the most powerful campaign messages, Biden has emphasized the need for a human policy.
A senior administrative official told reporters that the emphasis on Thursday’s trilateral meeting would be on regional solutions.
Noting that Mexico itself turned into the main goal for illegal migrants, the official said the countries would aim to resolve the “root cause.”
Lopez Obrador reverses this problem, saying that the United States and Canada must open up to immigrants. “We should no longer limit immigrants. To grow, you need workers,” he said.