[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.