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CIAO DATE: 08/05
Creating a North American Community - Chairmen's Statement
March 2005
Abstract
When the leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States meet in Texas on March 23, they will be representing countries whose futures are shared as never before.
U.S. trade with Mexico and Canada accounts for almost one-third of total U.S. trade. U.S. trade with its North American neighbors substantially exceeds its trade with the European Union, and with Japan and China combined. In the energy sector, Canada and Mexico are now the two largest exporters of oil to the United States. Canada alone supplies the United States with over 95 percent of its imported natural gas and 100 percent of its imported electricity. In 2005, the borders between Canada, Mexico, and the United States will be crossed almost 400 million times.
North America has become more than a free trade zone or an expression of geography. We are three liberal democracies, committed to protecting individual rights, upholding the rule of law, ensuring equality of opportunity for our citizens, and achieving a reasonable balance between the market and the state.
