April's North American Summit Means More Deep Integration

The next North American Summit is set to be held on April 21-22, 2008, in New Orleans, as a fitting memorial – returning to the location where the state turned its back on the people, literally leaving them to die; and where they now meet to turn their backs once again on the people, leaving them in the dark and their countries near death.

In preparation for the next North American (leaders’) Summit, the designated ministers from Mexico, the United States and Canada, met February 28 under the auspices of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). Industry Canada issued a press release February 28, 2008, which stated, "This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA has been a tremendous success: trade and commerce among our countries have grown exponentially." Then the press release made the statement that, "Trilateral merchandise trade is approximately $900 billion in 2007, significantly contributing to economic growth and increased standards of living in all three countries." Given the past few months of economic turmoil, record-breaking oil prices, a collapsing US dollar, and fears of a "1930’s style Depression," it’s a little premature to be saying our standard of living is on the rise.

After giving lip service to, "respecting the sovereignty, laws, unique heritage, and culture of each country," it states, "we have reviewed progress achieved since Montebello and have directed officials to" five key areas of integration, "Competitiveness, Safe Food & Products, Energy and Environment, Smart & Secure Borders, [and] Emergency Management and Preparedness."

The press release states that they will direct officials to, "Continue to implement the strategy to combat piracy and counterfeiting, and build on the Regulatory Cooperation Framework by pursuing collaboration through sectoral initiatives, with an emphasis on the automotive sector." So, it’s now time to cement together the already extremely integrated automotive industries of Canada and the US, as currently the Canadian "auto and parts makers export more than 85 per cent of their production south of the border."

It was recently reported that, "More than three-quarters of Canada's exports — including oil, minerals, lumber and passenger vehicles — are sold to Americans. The U.S. housing collapse already has slashed sales of Canadian lumber. Now, as a historic decline in home values causes American consumers to retrench, U.S. auto sales this year are headed to a 10-year low, according to TD Bank Financial Group in Toronto."

So my question is, if it’s the integrated economies between Canada and the US, specifically in the auto industry, that with a falling US economy threaten Canada’s own economy to such a great extent, why is the solution more "deep integration"? Looking at this from a perspective of looking out for the interest of Canada’s economy, if the ailment we are facing is a result of our near-total dependence and integration with the US economy, why is the cure more of the same? If you stick your finger in an electric socket, you get shocked. If, after doing that, you decide to continually put your finger in the same socket over and over again, expecting different results, you’re insane...

Full article: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8224