    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [March 31, 2006]
    [Pages 636-639]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Joint Statement by President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Stephen
    Harper of Canada, and President Vicente Fox
    Quesada of Mexico--The Security and Prosperity
    Partnership of North America: Next Steps
    March 31, 2006

        The three leaders of North America agreed to advance the agenda of
    the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) by
    focusing on five high priority initiatives:
        The North American Competitiveness Council. Increasing private
    sector engagement in the SPP by adding high-level business input will
    assist governments in enhancing North America's competitive position and
    engage the private sector as partners in finding solutions. The Council
    will:
         Consider issues that could be addressed trilaterally or
                bilaterally, as improvements in our bilateral relationships
                enhance North American competitiveness.
         Address issues of immediate importance and provide
                strategic medium and long-term advice.
         Provide input on the compatibility of our security and
                prosperity agendas, given the linkages between security and
                prosperity in a global marketplace.
         Offer ideas on the private sector's role in promoting North
                American competitiveness.
        Advancing Cooperation on Avian and Pandemic Influenza. Leaders
    agreed to the following principles to guide collaboration on all stages
    of avian or pandemic influenza management:
         Share information among our governments in an open, timely
                and transparent manner.
         Adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach that
                incorporates animal and public health aspects in managing
                avian influenza and influenza pandemics.
         Ensure coordination within our respective national
                governments on all aspects of emergency management for an
                avian influenza outbreak or a human influenza pandemic, by
                building on existing mechanisms of cooperation and
                strengthening them as required.
         Coordinate our actions and leverage our respective
                capacities to ensure rapid and effective steps are taken to
                deal with avian influenza outbreaks or a human influenza
                pandemic in North America.
         Advise one another in advance of making any decision that
                could seriously affect the other countries.
         Base our actions on the best available science and
                evidence-based decision-making.
         Agree that the imposition and removal of veterinary or
                public health measures on the movement of people, animals,
                and goods, under our national laws and international
                obligations, will not be more restrictive or maintained
                longer than necessary to achieve the veterinary or public
                health objective so as to avoid unnecessary interference
                with the movement of people and goods within North America.
         Ensure that the business continuity plans of our respective
                governments consider the highly interconnected nature of our
                economies.
         Strive to utilize clear and consistent messaging to the
                public and international organizations that is proactive,
                timely and accurate.
        North American Energy Security Initiative. A secure and sustainable
    energy supply is essential for our economic prosperity in North America.
    To advance our energy agenda we have agreed to:

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         Enhance the development of a diverse energy resource base
                in North America by increasing collaboration on research,
                development and commercialization of clean energy-related
                technologies, and
         Strengthen the North American energy market by improving
                transparency and regulatory compatibility, promoting the
                development of resources and infrastructure, increasing
                cooperation on energy efficiency standards, and supporting
                other efforts aimed at addressing challenges on the demand
                side.
        North American Emergency Management. The commitments made in the SPP
    recognize that a disaster--whether natural or man-made--in one North
    American country can have consequences across national borders, and may
    demand a common approach to all aspects of emergency management. Recent
    experience with hurricanes, ice storms, industrial accidents and the
    like demonstrate our interdependencies, as well as the need for
    coordination and mutual assistance in protecting and safekeeping our
    populations. Moving forward we will:
         Develop a common approach to critical infrastructure
                protection, and response to cross border terrorist incidents
                and natural disasters, across a number of different sectors
                including, but not limited to, transportation, energy, and
                telecommunications.
         Develop and implement joint plans for cooperation for
                incident response, as well as conduct coordinated training
                and exercises in emergency response.
        Smart, Secure Borders. Leaders agreed to complete the following
    activities, to contribute to smart and secure borders, over the next
    twenty-four months:
         Collaborate to establish risk-based screening standards for
                goods and people that rely on technology, information
                sharing and biometrics.
         Develop and implement compatible electronic processes for
                supply chain security that use advanced electronic cargo
                information to analyze risk and ensure quick and efficient
                processing at the border;
         Develop standards and options for secure documents to
                facilitate cross-border travel;
         Exchange additional law enforcement liaison officers to
                assist in criminal and security investigations; and,
         Develop coordinated business resumption plans at border
                crossings to ensure legitimate trade continues.

    The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America Key
    Accomplishments since June 2005

        The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP),
    launched by the leaders of Mexico, Canada and the United States in March
    2005, aims to promote growth and economic opportunity, increase
    security, and improve the quality of life of our peoples. In June 2005,
    lead Ministers issued a joint report outlining steps to achieve these
    goals. Since then, highlights of accomplishments include:
         To enhance growth and competitiveness in a key sector, the
                North American Steel Trade Committee developed a new
                strategy aimed at reducing market distortions, facilitating
                trade and promoting overall competitiveness through
                innovation and market development.
         To adapt to changes in sourcing and production methods, the
                three countries have analyzed ways to liberalize
                requirements for obtaining NAFTA duty-free treatment.
                Changes to the rules of origin have been implemented
                successfully and technical teams are working on additional
                changes.
         To speed up response times when managing infectious disease
                outbreaks, save lives, and reduce health care costs, the
                United States and Canada

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                signed an agreement to enable simultaneous exchange of
                information between virtual national laboratory networks
                (PulseNet).
         To make consumer goods safer, save lives, and prevent
                injuries, the United States and Mexico signed an agreement
                for advance notifications when consumer goods violate one
                country's safety standards or pose a danger to consumers.
                Canada and the United States signed a similar agreement in
                June.
         The United States and Canada signed an agreement, which is
                a milestone in pipeline regulatory cooperation, to allow
                increased compliance data sharing, staff exchanges and joint
                training. The sharing of best practices will lead to a more
                uniform regulatory approach for cross border pipelines.
         The United States and Canada reached a full Open-Skies
                aviation agreement, removing all economic restrictions on
                air service to, from, and beyond one another's territory by
                the airlines of both countries. The agreement will encourage
                new markets development, lower prices and greater
                competition.
         The United States and Mexico expanded air service in
                specific markets by increasing the number of designated
                passenger airlines per city-pair, and opening cooperative
                marketing arrangements (code-sharing) to airlines of either
                country and carriers of third countries.
         In order to increase navigational accuracy across the
                region, five Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) stations
                were installed in Canada and Mexico in 2005.
         To promote prosperity by reducing the costs of trade, the
                United States and Canada decreased transit times at the
                Detroit/Windsor gateway, our largest border crossing point,
                by 50 percent.
         To support increased trade and expedite secure processing
                of cross-border trade and travel between Mexico and the
                United States, six FAST/Express lanes are operating at the
                US-Mexico border, a new lane in Nogales will open soon, and
                we are working on a project for a lane in Matamoros.
                Exclusive lines and schedules will be implemented at nine
                crossings.
         To allow more efficient examination of rail cargo for
                hazardous materials and illicit flows of goods, the United
                States and Mexico have installed gamma ray equipment at key
                border crossings.
         To speed cargo shipping, the three countries are developing
                uniform in-advance electronic exchange of cargo manifest
                data for maritime, railroad and motor carriers.
         To improve air quality and promote a more competitive
                automotive industry, Mexico implemented an official standard
                to reduce sulfur in fuels. This will increase supply of low-
                sulfur fuels in Mexico.
         To increase border security, Mexican and U.S. agencies are
                harmonizing risk assessment mechanisms, exchanging
                information, and establishing protocols to facilitate
                detection of fraud and smuggling.
         To strengthen the integrity and security of asylum and
                refugee status determination systems, the United States and
                Canada launched a pilot project to share information on
                refugee and asylum claimants based on a comparison of
                fingerprint records.
         To address border violence, United States and Mexico signed
                an Action Plan to Combat Border Violence and Improve Public
                Safety. Officials of the two countries in Nogales, AZ-
                Nogales, Sonora and Laredo, TX-Nuevo Laredo completed
                protocols on border security and public safety.

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         Under the United States-Mexico Voluntary Repatriation
                Program, more than 35,000 persons, including 20,500 in 2005,
                were returned to their home in a secure, legal, and
                humanitarian way.
         To increase maritime security, the United States and Canada
                completed joint exercises on the St. Clair and Detroit
                Rivers in September and in February during Super Bowl XL.
                Officers, who were cross-designated on vessels of the other
                nation, could authorize pursuit of suspect vessels crossing
                jurisdictions.
         To advance preparedness to address a cyber incident
                affecting critical infrastructure, authorities from the
                United States and Canada completed a multi-national
                exercise, Cyberstorm, in February 2006.
         To enhance aviation security, the United States, Canada,
                and Mexico completed training on principles to protect
                aircraft from terrorism threats, on marksmanship skills, and
                on emergency procedures.
         To enhance port security, Canada and the United States
                concluded port facility visits at Oakland, CA and Vancouver,
                BC in October 2005 to facilitate the development of
                benchmark security standards.
         To ensure food safety while facilitating trade, a Food
                Safety Coordinating Task Force was formed and is developing
                a prioritized list of standards to compare for similarities,
                differences, and scientific bases for the differences. These
                efforts will facilitate the development of North American
                standards and, as appropriate, the removal of differences in
                standards.
         To enhance clarity and compatibility of energy regulation,
                Canadian, U.S. and Mexican regulators began regular meetings
                to exchange information on regulatory standards and energy
                market developments and to discuss bringing gas from Alaska
                to the North American market.
         To reduce marine air pollution, Canada and the United
                States have coordinated data collection, marine inventory
                development and air quality monitoring. The two countries
                are preparing to approach the International Maritime
                Organization to designate special areas for controlling
                sulfur emissions from marine vessels.
         Canada and the United States are developing Mutual
                Assistance Arrangements, which will enhance our preparedness
                for cross-border public health emergencies; Mexico has been
                invited to participate.

    Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of
    this joint statement.