WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (BNA): Reviving the North American Tripartite Summit after a five-year hiatus, President Joe Biden on Thursday joined the leaders of Canada and Mexico to declare that their nations can work together and prove that “democracies can succeed.” Even as they sort out differences on key issues.
But while Biden, along with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, spoke of their mutual respect, the three leaders also found themselves dealing with new pressures on trade, immigration, climate change and other issues, according to the Associated Press.
“We can meet all the challenges if we take the time to talk to each other, by working together,” said Biden, who hosted North American neighbors for what has been a semi-annual tradition in the decade.
It was a day of total diplomacy that required careful choreography as Trudeau and Lopez Obrador separately met with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris before meeting for a three-way conversation in the East Room that included a mixture of English, French and Arabic. Spanish.
The leaders released a statement after the summit saying they agreed to cooperate in tackling migration, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic – without specifying how to resolve their differences.
As they manipulated the alliance’s affinity, the tension points were also evident. The differences between Washington and Ottawa include over proposed tax incentives that would benefit electric vehicle manufacturers in the United States.
López Obrador is also frustrated that the US is not moving to issue more temporary work visas even as US companies complain that they are suffering from a labor shortage; The disappointment of the United States and Canada is that Mexico is not moving faster to tackle climate change.
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