The summit between AMLO, Biden and Trudeau leaves promises on immigration, economic and border security

AMLO and Biden: The economic integration of America 4:26

(CNN Spanish) --

A trilateral summit between Canada, the US and Mexico this week left several promises on the table to work for a more united region, according to statements by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Presidents Joe Biden and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

The summit of the so-called "Three Amigos" —United States, Mexico and Canada— is the second since Joe Biden became President of the United States. in 2021, since during the government of his predecessor, Donald Trump, it was not held no tripartite summit and the last one was held in 2016.

The meeting between Biden, AMLO and Trudeau left several scenes to remember, such as the arrival of both the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada at the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), where their Mexican counterpart received them.

The meeting also left a halo of cordiality among the three leaders.

According to Gerónimo Gutiérrez Fernández, former Mexican ambassador to the United States, there was "a good political climate for the summit" in order to seek dialogue despite some disagreements on cooperation.

"There is always the question of whether these summits are good for something... I believe that the summits should be held and one does not necessarily have to expect great results from them," Gutiérrez Fernández said on CNN.

advertising

"However it is much more difficult to achieve things between the governments of these three countries if you do not have these summits," he added.

The topics discussed were not new compared to previous meetings, but continue to highlight the needs of the North American region in terms of resolving urgent issues such as migration, cross-border security and drug trafficking, trade, and economic cooperation. and the transition to clean energy.

This is what Biden commits to with Mexico and Canada 2:44

Migration

One of the most important issues at the summit was of course the immigration issue, which has the US southern border in crisis due to thousands of migrants seeking to arrive from various countries in the region and the world through Mexico.

"Our entire hemisphere is experiencing unprecedented levels of migration more than ever before in history," President Joe Biden said Tuesday along with Trudeau and AMLO.

For this reason, Biden said, one of the objectives is to comply with the policy to open legal channels so that migrants from Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela can legally reach the United States.

This Tuesday, Kristina Rosales, a spokesperson for the US State Department, reported that one of the priorities of this summit is to bet on integrating Canada into a mechanism that allows the growing flows of migrants seeking to reach the United States to be relieved. through Mexico, Reuters reported.

In an interview with Reuters, Rosales said that a possible trilateral agreement with Canada would help thousands of people migrate using more legal channels, without having to risk their lives, often in the hands of human traffickers.

"Canada has its own specific programs for refuge and migration, and it is precisely one of the conversations that will be held this afternoon (Tuesday) when it comes to how this migratory flow can be managed at the trilateral level," Rosales said, quoted by Reuters.

Finally, López Obrador told Biden in a bilateral meeting to pressure his country's Congress to carry out an immigration reform to help regularize the immigration status of millions of Mexicans living in the US.

Ortiz-Mena: Mexico is North America and you should see it that way 2:45

Supply chains and imports

The economic issue was also key here.

After years of closing borders due to covid-19, North American leaders considered reactivating supply chains and replacing imports from the region, which is considered one of the richest and most dynamic in the world.

The objective of these agreements is for the region to become increasingly self-sufficient.

"To boost regional competitiveness, the three countries will seek to forge stronger regional supply chains as well as promote targeted investment in key industries of the future, such as semiconductors and electric vehicle batteries," the governments said in a joint statement.

"We agree to strengthen our economic and commercial relations, for which a joint committee will be created for planning and import substitution in North America," López Obrador said Tuesday.

"The idea is that each country proposes a group of four specialists who know about supply chains in order to "persuade businessmen, workers and public servants from the three governments about the importance, the significance of unite in North America and look forward for union throughout the American continent," AMLO said.

Analysts point out that some important agreements were reached in economic matters, which will benefit the three parties in terms of jobs and investments.

"The export sector is essential. We must remember that if there is a sector that pays well, it is manufacturing... they are formal jobs that also have all the benefits," said Carlos López Jones, director of Economic and Financial Trends.

In the meantime, the gains in these agreements will also go to the US, which according to López, "requires a place where it can cheaply manufacture all the products it requires if China's doors are closed tomorrow. We need a better place, we need be important trading partners. And the same thing happens with Canada: Canada has a lot of investments in Mexico... so we are a very interesting market."

The President of the United States, Joe Biden;

Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a message to the media as part of the '2023' North American Leaders Summit at the National Palace on January 10, 2023 in Mexico City.

(Credit: Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

drug trafficking

One of the concerns of the three countries, especially the US, is the flow of opioids into the US, particularly fentanyl, a synthetic drug that has caused more than 100,000 deaths in that country, so action against this is urgent.

Earlier in a bilateral meeting between Biden and AMLO, the leaders discussed security cooperation to go after drug traffickers and disrupt supply chains of chemicals used to make fentanyl, according to the White House.

Two Mexican officials, speaking on condition of anonymity with Reuters, said Monday the security cooperation plan called for Mexico to help reduce fentanyl smuggling across the border in exchange for the United States reducing the number of weapons. who enter Mexico.

"In the case of drugs, it is no longer marijuana, it is no longer poppy, it is no longer just cocaine, now it is fentanyl and chemicals, which are the most dangerous and noxious, harmful, because they cause many deaths. So, we are working on it in an organized way," López Obrador said about the fight against drugs that affects the two countries.

One more day at the Summit

This Wednesday a bilateral summit between Mexico and Canada is expected in which they will discuss other issues of interest such as migration, the environment and clean energy.

In addition, following the summit, the three countries will explore standards for developing hydrogen as a clean energy source, according to a joint statement on Tuesday, pledging to "act quickly" to implement clean energy solutions, increase vehicle production and adoption. zero emissions and transition to cleaner fuels, they said.

-- With information from CNN's Mario González and Gabriela Frías, and from Reuters

TEMEC Migration