Canada will no longer require Mexican visitors to have a visa to enter the nation, whereas Mexico will end in October 13 years of restrictions on Canadian beef imports. The ‘Three Amigos’ summit between the leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico is set for this week in Ottawa. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto arrived in Toronto Monday, marking the first state visit to Canada in 15 years.
The trilateral meeting will take place Wednesday, where the three leaders will discuss trade and last week’s “Brexit” will most certainly be addressed. They are expected to announce plans to create half of the region power from renewable energy.
The visa requirement will end on Dec. 1 after seven years. In 2009, the former Conservative government decided to impose the restriction as an attempt to stop the so-called bogus asylum claims. As for the Canadian beef imports, they were banned after a report of mad cow disease in that country was released.
“It is my hope that through meetings like this one, we will be able to further strengthen that relationship in the years ahead,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said after talks with Pena Nieto, according to a report by Reuters.
As the November elections raise alarms on future relations between the three countries, Trudeau told reporters that he and the Mexican president had briefly talked about the importance of joining forces with the new American head of state.
He said he was committed to collaborating to enhance the North American trilateral relationship despite the changes that will come with the winner of the next presidential elections in the United States.
For his part, Pena Nieto said both Mexico and Canada had joined forces to create a group tasked with research on methods to deepen relations. Mexico’s Finance Minister Luis Videgaray said leaders would focus on finding ways to give greater value to their integration, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Canadian officials told Reuters privately that the two countries have not taken enough measures to create commercial and political ties or communicate the benefits of free trade to their people properly.
Canada and Mexico send most of their exports to the United States, and the three countries are members of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which seems to have an uncertain future after the U.S. election. The presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump wants to tear up the deal or change negotiations, whereas Democrat Hillary Clinton has expressed her support to free trade during her campaign.
All three nations are also members of the 12-nation trade known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which has become a relevant target in both sides in the U.S. election and has received little support from Congress. President Obama has said he wants to put an end to the TPP as part of his economic legacy in Asia, as the Daily Mail reported. He casts the trade as a NAFTA’s update.
The role of Brexit in the ‘Three Amigos’ summit
The Ottawa summit will take place just days after Britain voted to leave the European Union after more than four decades and leaders are expected to discuss that issue.
The referendum results may delay the process of ratification of a trade deal negotiated by Canada and the European Union that was originally set to take effect next year. The decision made by the Britons is also likely to pose a threat to Canada’s economy.
The Brexit is also considered a setback to discussions about a U.S.-EU trade deal. Mexico has prepared a draft proposal for an agreement with the United Kingdom.
Source: Reuters