|
|
|
 News from Around the Americas | January 2005 
Canada, US and Mexico Planning Summit
 CNews
 Prime Minister Paul Martin says he wants to negotiate changes to NAFTA, and that U.S. President George W. Bush has agreed to a Canada-U.S.-Mexico summit on the matter.
Martin said Thursday that officials from the three countries are working out details of the summit, including a date, after he raised the issue with Bush during the president's trip to Ottawa last month and again during a phone call about two weeks ago.
"What I said is, 'Listen, there are gaps in NAFTA and they've got to be fixed.' These apply to the Mexicans as much as they will apply to us," Martin said after a Liberal caucus meeting.
"It remains to be seen how far those discussions - what kind of fruit they will bear. But I raised the issue and I said, 'I think that the three of us have got to get together.' "
Mexican President Vicente Fox has been the most vocal proponent of a revamp of the 11-year-old trade treaty and has called for further integration between the countries.
But Martin hinted at more modest objectives Thursday, like simply putting an end to endless trade disputes such as the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber war.
"The constant winning of panel battles - in the case of softwood lumber for example - really does indicate the need for a dispute-settlement mechanism," Martin said. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us