Biden praises Canada, Mexico as leaders discuss strains

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By AAMER MADHANI, ROB GILLIES, and MARIA VERZA

WASHINGTON (AP) —

Reviving three-way North American summitry after a five-year break, President Joe Biden on Thursday joined with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to declare their nations can work together and prove “democracies can deliver” even as they sort out differences on key issues.

But as Biden, along with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, spoke of their mutual respect, the three leaders also found themselves dealing with fresh strains on trade, immigration, climate change and other matters.

“We can meet all the challenges if we just take the time to speak to one another, by working together,” said Biden, who hosted the North American neighbors for what had been a near-annual tradition in the decade before President Donald Trump came to office.

It was a day of full-on diplomacy that required careful choreography as Trudeau and Lopez Obrador each met separately with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris before gathering for a three-way conversation in the East Room that featured a language mix of English, French and Spanish.



President Joe Biden walks with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a meeting in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/immigration-coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-donald-trump-technology-b6e962e92ecc600c4bd2ddc65c327d4d

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. The main issue is that US, Mexican, and Canadian automakers are very intertwined so "Buy American"

... so Biden's "Buy American" component of switching cars to electric would cause widespread disruption in all three countries.

Canada supplies battery materials, other raw materials, multitudes of car parts, and finished cars.

Smartest thing Biden can do to move his BBB agenda forward would be to dial back the disruptive America First part of the agenda so that BBB can really move forward smoothly and get the goals accomplished quickly.

Some US states would suffer grievous economic disruptions if the three countries aren't more involved together in Build Back Better.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. Intertwined. Want to blow up the states' economies?