The North American Leaders Summit – often referred to in the press as the “Three Amigos Summit” – has been held every two years since 2005 between the countries of Canada, United States and Mexico.  The goals of this year’s meeting in June 2016 when U.S. President Barack Obama, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met in Ottawa, Canada, were stated as seeking to produce, “sustainable economic growth, help transition to a low carbon economy, and provide better opportunities for Canadians, Americans, and Mexicans alike.”  According to international trade and foreign investment expert, Pablo Soria de Lachica, a number of important and large-scale agreements resulted from the meeting.

One of the most impressive results of the summit was the announcement that the three countries had set an historic goal of reaching 50% clean power generation by 2025.  Pablo Soria de Lachica notes that the official definition of “clean energy source” includes not just renewables like solar and wind but also clean production and carbon reduction strategies such as nuclear power, carbon capture and storage plants, and energy efficiency.  Along with the shared goal of clean power, the countries agreed to further unify their North American partnership by collaborating on cross-border transmission projects.  Six transmission lines are currently proposed or in permitting review, including the Great Northern Transmission Line, the New England Clean Power Link, and the Nogales Interconnection.

The other environmental goal to come from the summit was an agreement to dramatically reduce so-called short-lived climate pollutants.  These include methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons which are thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide, meaning that their reduction would deliver significant results for global warming as well as benefit the overall health of the citizens.  The countries have committed to reduce methane emissions by 40-45% by 2025 through the implementation of federal regulations to reduce methane emitted by the oil and gas sector, as well as to develop and implement strategies for agriculture and waste management, the other two largest sources of atmospheric methane.

The North American Leaders Summit also resulted in some significant trade agreements as well as some relatively smaller policy changes that will have large impacts.  The most major agreement is to curtail excess production of steel and aluminum by curtailing government subsidies and other supports that can artificially maintain or increase supply, as well as to enhance cross-border transparency and information about capacity and production schedules.  Another development from the summit that will have far-reaching positive effects on trade is to expand the Trusted Traveler program which allows low-risk, pre-screened travelers to bypass lines and use automated kiosks when passing through customs and immigration checkpoints. The United States, Canada, and Mexico set the goal of a united trilateral Trusted Traveler program by the end of 2016.

Pablo Soria de Lachica is a self-taught Forex authority who has earned acclaim as an international broker and an author of instructional books on investment principles and techniques.  He currently collaborates with Kartoshka, a global company at the forefront of the latest technologies in sales, telemarketing, and customer support.

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