Building a North American Community

Foreword
America’s relationship with its North American neighbors rarely gets
the attention it warrants. This report of a Council-sponsored Independent
Task Force on the Future of North America is intended to help
address this policy gap. In the more than a decade since the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) took effect, ties among
Canada, Mexico, and the United States have deepened dramatically.
The value of trade within North America has more than doubled.
Canada and Mexico are now the two largest exporters of oil, natural
gas, and electricity to the United States. Since 9/11, we are not only
one another’s major commercial partners, we are joined in an effort
to make North America less vulnerable to terrorist attack.
This report examines these and other changes that have taken place
since NAFTA’s inception and makes recommendations to address the
range of issues confronting NorthAmerican policymakers today: greater
economic competition from outside North America, uneven development
within North America, the growing demand for energy, and
threats to our borders.
The Task Force offers a detailed and ambitious set of proposals that
build on the recommendations adopted by the three governments at
the Texas summit of March 2005. The Task Force’s central recommendation
is establishment by 2010 of a North American economic and
security community, the boundaries of which would be defined by a
common external tariff and an outer security perimeter.
Unlike previous Council-sponsored Task Forces, this project
was international, or trinational to be precise. The membership was
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comprised of policy practitioners, scholars, and business leaders from
each of the three countries. The Task Force held meetings in Toronto,
New York, and Monterrey. In this effort, the Council partnered with
two outstanding institutions, the Canadian Council ofChief Executives
and the Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales. I thank them
for their collaboration, collegiality, and support. We were extremely
lucky that three experienced and dedicated North Americans—John
P. Manley, Pedro Aspe, and William F. Weld—agreed to lead this
effort.Myappreciation as well goes to vice-chairsThomas P. d’Aquino,
Andre´s Rozental, and Robert A. Pastor, project director Chappell H.
Lawson, and Lee Feinstein, executive director of the Council’s Task
Force program. This report simply would not have been possible
without their commitment, dedication, and expertise. Finally, I want
to thank the Task Force members for the tremendous intellectual and
time commitment they havemade to this project, resulting in a valuable
and lasting contribution to a subject of great importance to our three
countries and beyond.
Richard N. Haass
President
Council on Foreign Relations
May 2005