US President Joe Biden began a meeting with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts on Thursday, celebrating the return of these meetings suspended under the administration of Donald Trump. But there are still many trade and immigration disputes to be settled, among others.
Biden first met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and said the relationship between the two nations had been one of the simplest during the first months of his rule.
But the US president also confirmed that expected to discuss differences on a proposal for tax incentives for electric vehicles included in his huge initiative on social services and climate change, and which has raised concerns in Ottawa.
Biden then held a meeting with the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and later a meeting would be held between the three leaders. Trudeau and López Obrador too held separate meetings with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump had a distant relationship with López Obrador’s predecessor: Enrique Peña Nieto, who he pressured to never publicly state that Mexico would not pay for the border wall between the two nations.
But López Obrador seemed to agree with Trump in this sense: Mexico was stopping the flow of migrants from Central America trying to reach the southern border of the United States and Trump was practically turning a blind eye to all other aspects of the complicated relationship between the two nations.
López Obrador spoke warmly about Biden as he appeared on camera for the start of their meeting on Thursday. The two presidents discussed Mexico’s relations with the United States during the governments of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt, in front of the portraits of the two that Biden hung in the Oval Office.
The Mexican president has made it clear that Biden treats his government with respect, which he stressed has not always been the case in the two countries’ long relationship.
“He wants the treatment to be respectful and between equals, he told me about it the first time we spoke on the phone, already as President of the United States. He told me that they weren’t going to see us as a backyard, which we appreciate, because that way we don’t need to reaffirm our principles of independence and sovereignty, ”said López Obrador on Biden.
Saving a trilateral tradition
The traditional trilateral summit began when George W. Bush hosted Mexican President Vicente Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin at his ranch in Waco, Texas, in 2005.
Biden had previously held virtual meetings with Trudeau in February and with López Obrador in March.
Although they have taken over the traditional North American Leaders’ Summit, the three allies have also they face deep differences on issues such as migration and climate change.
“There isn’t much in common between them, at least in their visions of what they want for their country,” said Kenneth Frankel, president of the Canadian Council for the Americas. “Not only what they want for their country, but what they can do for their country.”
Thursday’s meetings at the White House mean the first trilateral meeting between North American leaders ever since Trudeau, Barack Obama and Peña Nieto met in Ottawa in June 2016. These summits have been suspended under the Trump administration, which had conflicted relations with Trudeau and Peña Nieto during his tenure.
Biden has moved forward in his attempt to mend America’s relations with its neighbors after the turbulent Trump administration. But significant tensions persist and new ones have emerged.
Mexico’s priorities for the meeting were to achieve concrete progress on immigration issues and more equitable access to covid-19 vaccines.
Meanwhile, the United States and Canada have expressed frustration that López Obrador did not join global efforts to reduce emissions that cause climate change. The Mexican president did not attend the United Nations climate summit, which was held this month in Glasgow.
The López Obrador government wants the ratification of the funds promised by the United States for the development of the countries of the North Triangle of Central America. The Mexican president continues to pressure the United States to fund the expansion of its tree-planting program in Central America.
Mexico has worked with the United States – both under the Trump and Biden administrations – to control migrant flows and provide assistance to returning migrants to Central America. The two countries are still negotiating a way to comply with a court order to re-implement a Trump-era measure known as “Stay in Mexico,” which forces asylum seekers to wait on the Mexican side of the border for processing your asylum application in the United States. White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted that such a policy should not be among the main topics of negotiation at Thursday’s meeting.
López Obrador has also repeatedly mentioned his interest in the US government expanding its temporary work visa program so that more Mexicans and Central American Americans can meet the demand for labor. works in the United States. In return, temporary workers could have better access to American wages without having to join the flow of illegal migrants.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said López Obrador will focus on three issues: the pandemic, economic integration and immigration. On immigration, the foreign minister said his country would try to add support to two of López Obrador’s main social programs – tree planting and employment opportunities for young people – in order to reduce migration factors.
US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar recently expressed “serious concerns” over attempts by the Mexican government to limit competition in the electricity sector.
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