A Blueprint for a North American Community
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Contact:
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Robert A. Pastor
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(404) 727-6969
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Washington, DC—The United States and Mexico should use the state visit to Washington of President Vicente Fox of Mexico on September 4-7 to build on President Fox's bold proposals to launch the creation of a true North American Community. They should invite Canada to join them in a creating a community that could:
These proposals to deepen the current North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) are made in a new Institute book Toward a North American Community: Lessons from the Old World for the New.
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Dr. Pastor argues that the three leaders of North America have an opportunity, at the beginning of a new century, to construct a unique Community composed of two industrial countries and a developing one. All elected in the same year, Jean Chretien, prime minister of Canada, Vicente Fox, president of Mexico, and George W. Bush, president of the United States, recognize the growing economic weight of their neighborhood. Only Fox, however, has articulated a long-term vision of North America as a Common Market. The time has come for the United States and Canada to respond.
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Europe made the mistake of creating too many institutions but NAFTA made the opposite mistake in neglecting to establish any credible organizations. Pastor proposes that the three governments start by establishing a North American Commission (NAC), composed of 15 distinguished individuals, of whom five would be appointed by each of the three governments. Unlike the massive, bureaucratic European Commission, the NAC would be lean and advisory. Its principal purpose would be to prepare a "North American agenda" for the leaders to consider at semi-annual meetings. Each leader would be staffed by his government but, by meeting under the auspices of the NAC, the leaders might be more inclined to think of problems from a trilateral perspective and develop rules that would solve problems or seize new opportunities.
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A recurring dilemma of any free-trade scheme is that the reduction of trade and investment barriers also facilitates the flow of illegal goods. One country can impede the illegal flow of goods but only at the cost of slowing legal traffic and breeding resentment among its neighbors. To address this problem, the three governments could establish a single "Customs and Immigration Force" that would involve officials from all three countries that would be trained at a single site. This force would reduce paperwork on the border by at least half, and it could also work on the perimeter of the three countries.
The effort to stop Mexican trucks from entering the United States is not just a threat to NAFTA's integrity, it is regrettably just a small part of the transportation challenge facing the three countries. The problem is not that the United States is trying to impose discriminatory safety standards on Mexico; the real problem is there is no single set of safety standards. There are 64 sets in North America. The book proposes the creation of a safe, seamless, integrated transportation system with new trade corridors and greater collaboration on inspections for immigration and customs.
Is a North American Community feasible? Are the three governments willing to consider reducing their sovereignty? The big surprise from public opinion polls is that a majority of the public in all three countries is prepared to consider a single union provided that their cultures were not threatened and their standards of living would be improved. As stunning, the people in all three countries are becoming more alike. There is a convergence of values and attitudes on public policy in the three countries, particularly among young people. Society is considerably in front of its governments.
The state visit of President Fox to Washington in September can set the foundation for building a North American Community. The two leaders should invite the Canadian Prime Minister to a Trilateral Summit in six months and establish a North American Commission to prepare far-sighted North American proposals for them to consider. If the United States and Canada are prepared to make half the commitment that Europe has made to its poorer countries, the prospects for a North American Community will grow stronger. Such bold steps could become the 21st century equivalent of "the shot heard round the world."
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About the Institute
The Institute for International Economics is a private nonprofit research institution for the study and discussion of international economic policy. The Institute, directed by C. Fred Bergsten, provides fresh analyses of key economic, monetary, trade and investment issues and recommends practical policy approaches for strengthening public policy toward these important topics. The Institute receives funding from a large number of private foundations and corporations.
Chapters 1 through 8 of Pastors book are available online. Chapter 7 is a whopper.
"Robert Pastor’s book offers a wealth of new ideas and proposals for constructing a
North American Community and lifting all of the people of the entire continent."Vicente Fox
President of Mexico
Toward A North American Community: Lessons from the Old World for the New
by Robert A. Pastor
http://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/331/1iie3284.pdf
1. Redesigning NAFTA for the 21st Centuryhttp://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/331/2iie3284.pdf
2. One World or Three?http://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/331/3iie3284.pdf
3. The European Union and Its "Cohesion" Policies: An Evaluationhttp://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/331/4iie3284.pdf
4. North America's Journeyhttp://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/331/5iie3284.pdf
5. A North American Community: A Proposal to Deepen NAFTAhttp://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/331/6iie3284.pdf
6. A North American Community: Sectoral Planshttp://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/331/7iie3284.pdf
7. Is a North American Community Feasible? Can Sovereignty be Transcended?http://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/331/8iie3284.pdf
8. From A North American to an American Community: The 21st Century of Integration
So in other words, the Pastor bonehead wants us to subsidize Mexico's crummy economy, reducing the incentive for their government and people to improve it themselves. Is that what he/it is saying?