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Council Joins Leading Canadians andMexicans to Launch Independent Task Force onthe Future of North America
October 15, 2004Council on Foreign Relations
Contact: Lisa Shields, Vice President, Communications 212-434-9888 orcommunications@cfr.org
 
October 15, 2004 
 —The Council has launched an independent task force on thefuture of North America to examine regional integration since the implementationof the North American Free Trade Agreement ten years ago. The task force willidentify inadequacies in the current arrangements and suggest opportunities fordeeper cooperation on areas of common interest. Unlike other Council-sponsored task forces, which focus primarily on U.S. policy, this initiativeincludes participants from Canada and Mexico, as well as the United States, andwill make policy recommendations for all three countries.The task force will review five spheres of policy in which greater cooperation maybe needed. They are: deepening economic integration; reducing thedevelopment gap; harmonizing regulatory policy; enhancing security; anddevising better institutions to manage conflicts that inevitably arise fromintegration and exploit opportunities for collaboration."Ten years after NAFTA, it is obvious that the security and economic futures ofCanada, Mexico, and the United States are intimately bound. But there isprecious little thinking available as to where the three countries need to be inanother ten years and how to get there. I am excited about the potential of thistask force to help fill this void," said Council President
Richard N. Haass
.The task force is chaired by former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Ministerof Finance
John P. Manley
, former Finance Minister of Mexico
Pedro C. Aspe
,and former Governor of Massachusetts and Assistant Attorney General
WilliamF. Weld
."Since NAFTA came into effect 10 years ago the world has seen dramaticchange," said
Manley
."The European Union has expanded to 25 members and China and India havebecome major economic factors. At the same time the need to build cooperativesecurity relationships has become more critical in the aftermath of 9/11. NorthAmerica cannot but move forward and this initiative of the Council on ForeignRelations provides an important forum to develop a roadmap for the future of theNorth American community."
 
 "After a decade since signing NAFTA, there are new realities facing NorthAmerica in the economic, social and security fronts. Only by having constructivedialogue among our three countries can we reach common ground on thesetopics," said
Aspe
."As a former governor of a state dependent on foreign trade, I am well aware ofhow our future is intertwined with that of our nearest neighbors," said
Weld
."Maximizing economic growth and development throughout this century— inother words, creating the greatest wealth for the greatest number— will requireus to abandon zero-sum thinking. Without derogating from legitimate nationalconcerns, we will need to consider what is best for the people of the NorthAmerican continent."Chief Executive of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives
Thomas d'Aquino
,President of the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations
Andres Rozental
, andVice President of International Affairs at American University
Robert A. Pastor
will serve as vice chairs.
Chappell H. Lawson
, Associate Professor of PoliticalScience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will direct the task force.Founded in 1921, the
Council on Foreign Relations
is an independent, nationalmembership organization and a nonpartisan center for scholars dedicated toproducing and disseminating ideas so that individual and corporate members, aswell as policymakers, journalists, students, and interested citizens in the UnitedStates and other countries, can better understand the world and the foreignpolicy choices facing the United States and other governments. For moreinformation go to cfr.org
Members of the Independent Task Force on North AmericaMr. Thomas Axworthy
 Queen's University
Ms. Heidi S. Cruz
 Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
Mr. Nelson W. Cunningham
 Kissinger McLarty Associates
Mr. Alfonso de Angoitia
 Grupo Televisa, S.A.
 
General Sir Luis de La Calle
 De la Calle, Madrazo, Mancera, S.C.
Mr. James Dinning
 TransAlta
Professor Wendy K. Dobson
 University of Toronto
Dr. Richard A. Falkenrath
 The Brookings Institution
Dr. Rafael Fernandez de Castro
 Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
Mr. Ramón Alberto Garza García
 Montemedia
The Honorable Gordon D. Giffin
 McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP
Mr. Carlos Heredia Zubieta
 Mexican Council on Foreign Relations
The Honorable Carla A. Hills
 Hills & Company
Mr. Gary C. Hufbauer
 Institute for International Economics
Mr. Pierre Marc Johnson
 Heenan Blaikie
The Honorable James R. Jones
 Manatt Jones Global Strategies
Mr. David Mann
 Emera Inc.
Ms. Doris M. Meissner
 Migration Policy Institute
The Honorable Thomas M. T Niles
 U.S. Council for International Business
Madame Beatriz Paredes Rangel
 Fundacion Colosio
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