NA Vision- NGO NETWORK - FINAL November 7, 2013
North American Civil Society:
A Vision of a North American Community
Representing non-governmental organizations (NGO'S) that reflect many dimensions, of
civil society, including commerce, human rights, and the environment in our three
countries of North America - the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, we have come together to
establish a North American NGO Network to define and contribute to building a North
American Community, a new and different relationship among the peoples and
governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Our goal is to fashion a new
continental framework that will be viewed by all three countries as fair and one that
would build trust, enhance the well-being of all its citizens, and make our countries more
secure, competitive, and just.
Beginning in the mid-1980s and accelerating since the North American Free Trade
Agreement came into effect on January 1, 1994, economic and social integration among
the three countries of North America advanced at a much faster rate than their trade and
investment with the rest of the world. While Canada and Mexico remain more
dependent on the U.S. market than the U.S. is on them, the first and second most
important trading markets for U.S. exports and sources of energy are Canada and Mexico.
This heightened interdependence means that instability or economic recession within one
North American country dramatically affect the others, as we learned during the Mexican
peso crisis of 1994 and the U.S. financial crisis of 2007-08, even if the other countries
have pursued responsible policies.. When a neighbor’s house burns or is vandalized, then
all the houses in the community are in danger. At the same time, in a community, each
benefits from the others’ success. When the value of a neighbor’s house rises, this has a
positive effect on the other homes. These are the two sides of a vision of a North
American Community. Increasing interdependence offers additional costs and
opportunities. To mitigate the dangers and expand the benefits of a more integrated and
less regulated market requires continental plans and institutions. It requires a new
consciousness among both leaders and people – a new way of thinking about our
neighbors. This will take time, but we want to begin the journey.
Economic integration in North America peaked in 2001 for numerous reasons, including
the failure by the three governments to address a new transnational agenda, that includes
transportation, infrastructure, immigration, labor, and regulatory harmonization. These
issues have traditionally been viewed as domestic issues, but they are now beyond the
effective reach of domestic legislatures. To move forward, the leaders of Canada,
Mexico, and the United States need to find new ways to collaborate on addressing these
transnational issues, and transform North America into a more competitive platform in a
world of regions, and civil society need also to play an increasing role.
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Our purpose is to build a greater sense of being a part of North America. We do not want
to displace the pride each of us feel in our countries, but rather to supplement that with a
feeling of being North American. We do so not to build a fortress or to separate
ourselves from the world. On the contrary, we want to connect better with our closest
neighbors in order to strengthen our ability to compete in the world and to serve as a
model for other regional groups.
We are conscious that our history is viewed very differently in each country and that
many view the differences separating us as more profound than the ties that connect us or
the commonalities. This is partly because one of the three partners is much stronger and
wealthier than the others and partly because that country, shouldering global
responsibilities, has not always been sensitive or even aware of the concerns of its
neighbors. A Community requires a different attitude – one in which each country
consciously tries to listen to the views of the others, trust each other, and learn from their
experiences.
Perhaps, the most important tie connecting our countries is not commerce but people as
citizens, travelers, migrants, and consumers. Every year, our two borders experience 500
million border crossings, and the largest source of immigration to the United States in the
past three decades has been Mexico – by far. Nearly thirty percent of all legal
immigrants to the United States - and nearly 60 percent of all undocumented workers
have come from just one country – Mexico –. Canadians move to the United States for
both pleasure and work more than to any other country. Americans travel more to
Mexico and Canada than to any other countries. In brief, our people are connecting the
countries routinely and more than ever before.
And yet it is clear that many in the three countries do not believe that the promise of
NAFTA – the economic foundation of the new North America – has been fulfilled. Many
Mexicans thought NAFTA would close the gap in incomes with its neighbors, and yet
that gap has not narrowed. Many Canadians thought the United States would accept the
decisions of NAFTA courts on trade disputes, but the United States has rejected decisions
on softwood lumber and trucking. Despite growing interaction, and perhaps because of
it, there have been increasing frictions and disappointments among our countries in the
past few years.
We have come together not just to try to understand better the causes of these problems,
but because we want to deepen and transform our relations. We want to begin by
imagining a different North America – one in which –
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The gap in income that separates Mexico from its northern neighbors has to
narrow significantly for genuine partnership to become possible;
North American teams from all three countries defend the continent from both
the violence of drug cartels, terrorists, and other threats;
Goods and services traverse the borders smoothly and expeditiously, and
trucks do not have to off-load their cargoes at the border;
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New trade corridors have been built from northern Canada to southern
Mexico;
Labor markets are increasingly integrated with freer movement of labor
between the US and Canada and freer and legal movement between Mexico
and the United States;
Teachers and students in all three countries will teach and study more in each
other's country while learning more about the characteristics that the three
countries share as well as the differences that distinguish them;
The continent becomes almost self-sufficient in energy and the energy
industry in all three countries is on the cutting edge of clean energy
technology while overall carbon emissions decline;
New institutions in North America are rule-based, lean and pragmatic. They
help the three federal legislatures address continental issues; forge common
approaches to regulatory issues; resolve trade and investment disputes
definitively; and
The leaders of the three countries meet annually and respond to an agenda and
options proposed by an independent North American Commission.
We will organize into sub-committees to respond to each challenge.
A North American Community means that the United States would consult its neighbors
on important issues that affect them. It means that Canada will work closely with Mexico
to build rule-based institutions and to develop a formula for closing the development gap
and eliminate visas between the two countries. It means that Mexico will undertake
reforms that could make good use of the additional resources to close the development
gap. All three countries face particular challenges to make North America more than
just a geographical expression – the U.S., to demonstrate a more responsive and
respectful leadership; Canada, to build tri-lateral institutions; and Mexico, working with
its two neighbors on a concerted plan, to close the development gap. Transforming the
vision of a Community into policies and programs will require a vision, leadership,
institutions, and resources.
Success would not only energize the continent; it would inspire the world.
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