Joint Statement

          Prime Minister Harper, President Bush and President Calderón

                        North American Leaders� Summit



August 21, 2007

Montebello, Quebec, Canada



We, the leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States, have met in Montebello to

discuss the opportunities and challenges facing North America and to establish priorities

for our further collaboration. As neighbours, we share a commitment to ensure North

America remains a safe, secure and economically dynamic region, and a competitive

player in global markets. We also discussed opportunities to cooperate globally and

within our own hemisphere. The values and principles we share, in particular

democracy, the rule of law and respect for individual rights and freedoms, underpin our

efforts in building a more prosperous and secure region.



The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP), launched in 2005, is

aimed at jointly achieving tangible results across a spectrum of areas, while respecting

each nation’s sovereignty. On February 23, 2007, our ministers responsible for the SPP

met in Ottawa to review progress and discuss our further cooperation. Our ministers of

industry and commerce, foreign affairs, security, environment, energy, health,

transportation and trade have also met in recent months, reflecting our deepening

dialogue within North America. They have made progress in advancing the priorities we

identified at our 2006 meeting in Cancun. In particular, our three countries have

completed:



   -   a North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza;



   -   a Regulatory Cooperation Framework;



   -   an Intellectual Property Action Strategy; and



   -   a Trilateral Agreement for Cooperation in Energy Science and Technology.



In Montebello, we have discussed how we can build on our progress to date to further

improve North America’s position in the world. The North American Competitiveness

Council (NACC), announced last year in Cancun, has provided us with thoughtful







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recommendations on how we could strengthen the competitive platform for businesses.

We welcome the NACC’s recommendations, including its readiness to be part of the

solution, and we look forward to continuing our dialogue with the NACC in furthering

North America’s competitiveness. We ask that our ministers continue to seek input from

interested parties in determining future priorities for increasing the security, prosperity

and quality of life in North America. In this, the third year of the SPP, we direct our

ministers to review the SPP process, focus on priorities and deliver results.



We ask our ministers to focus their collaboration in five priority areas for the next year:



Enhancing the Global Competitiveness of North America



The North American Free Trade Agreement has been a tremendous mutual success in

strengthening our economies and in enhancing the competitiveness of North America. In

a rapidly changing global economy, we must build on NAFTA’s success and reduce

unnecessary trade barriers to ensure North America remains a competitive and a dynamic

place to do business. To this end, the Regulatory Cooperation Framework will enable us

to develop regulatory approaches that are compatible across our borders, while

maintaining high standards of health, safety and environmental protection. In the coming

year, we ask our ministers to consider work in areas, such as the chemicals, automotive,

transportation, and information and communications technology sectors. The Intellectual

Property Action Strategy also gives us an invaluable tool for combating counterfeiting

and piracy, which undermine innovation, harm economic development and can have

negative public-health and safety implications. We also ask our ministers to implement

the Strategy and take concrete steps to strengthen our ability to combat counterfeiting and

piracy in North America.



We are strongly committed to advancing multilateral trade liberalization through a

successful, comprehensive and ambitious conclusion to the WTO Doha Round of

negotiations. We endorse the work of our trade ministers in Vancouver on June 13-14,

2007 to build on NAFTA’s success and advance our shared interests in the Doha Round.

We ask them to renew their efforts, working with their WTO colleagues, to achieve a

balanced outcome that results in meaningful increases in trade in goods and services and

improvements in global trading conditions.



Safe Food and Products



We will seek to strengthen the existing cooperation and mechanisms within the region,

build on current standards and practices, and work with our trading partners outside

North America using a scientific risk-based approach to identify and stop unsafe food and

products before they enter our countries. These efforts could include: working with









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authorities to strengthen inspection and certification in exporting countries; identifying

best practices by importers in selecting foreign manufacturers and inspecting goods either

before export or before distribution; and reviewing our own existing authorities and

practices to enhance national, regional and local coordination. Our governments will

continue to address the safety of food and products imported into North America, while

facilitating the significant trade in these products that our countries already have and

without imposing unnecessary barriers to trade.



Sustainable Energy and the Environment



The further development of clean and sustainable energy is critical to reduce the effects

of climate change and air pollution, while fuelling the North American economy. We

support an integrated approach to climate change, energy security and economic

development, and support the development and deployment of clean energy technologies.

Cooperation among our major economies on a range of policy tools and sectoral

approaches will advance these objectives. In particular, we ask our ministers to explore

ways to cooperate on national auto fuel efficiency standards. We also ask our ministers

to develop projects under the newly signed energy science and technology agreement,

cooperate on moving new technologies to the marketplace and collaborate on energy

efficiency.



Smart and Secure Borders



Our borders must be both efficient and secure if we are to continue to enhance prosperity,

security and quality of life in North America. Effective border strategies minimize

security risks, while facilitating the efficient and safe movement of goods, services and

people, as trade and cross-border travel increase in North America. These strategies will

draw on risk-based border management, innovative use of new technologies, coordinated

border infrastructure development, and by moving, where possible, inspection and

screening away from the land border. It is sometimes best to screen goods and travellers

prior to entry into North America. We ask our ministers to develop mutually acceptable

inspection protocols to detect threats to our security, such as from incoming travellers

during a pandemic and from radiological devices on general aviation. We also ask our

ministers to further cooperate in law enforcement, screening and facilitation of legitimate

trade and travellers across our borders.



Emergency Management and Preparedness



The consequences of catastrophic events often transcend national borders. Preparation

and planning can mitigate the impact of such events on people and our economies. Much

work has been undertaken between our countries at national, sub-national and local levels









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to develop common approaches for responding to major incidents. We ask our ministers

to continue this work and to address any obstacles preventing critical equipment, supplies

and personnel from being deployed expeditiously to those parts of North America where

they are needed. We also ask them to develop procedures for managing the movement of

goods and people across our shared borders during and following an emergency.



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The SPP is focussed on the well-being of North America, but we also share a desire to

work together to advance prosperity, security and stability globally. In Montebello,

therefore, we also discussed opportunities to cooperate globally and within our own

hemisphere. We ask foreign ministers to enhance dialogue and cooperation in North

America, as well as in the hemisphere in such areas as emergency management and

preparedness, and disaster risk reduction. Our shared values will continue to guide our

collaboration as continental neighbours and global allies in the future.



Prime Minister Harper and President Calderón were pleased to accept the proposal of

President Bush for the United States to host the next meeting of North American leaders

in 2008.









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               Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America:

                                     Next Steps



We, the leaders of North America, have asked our ministers to pursue the following

priority activities and ask them to report to us on their progress in one year:



Enhancing the Global Competitiveness of North America



Global markets are changing, with dynamic new players becoming more competitive and

innovative. More and more firms are relying on inputs from a wide range of international

sources for their manufacturing and production processes. In this highly competitive

environment, compatible regulations and standards enable us to protect health, safety and

the environment, as well as to facilitate trade in goods and services across our borders.

Strong copyright and piracy protection also encourage entrepreneurship and protect our

citizens. Over the coming year, we ask our ministers to strengthen North America as a

platform for global success and to achieve progress on regulatory cooperation and the

protection of intellectual property. In particular, we ask our ministers to implement:



   The Regulatory Cooperation Framework announced today by:



   -   strengthening regulatory cooperation, streamlining regulations and processes,

       encouraging compatibility of regulations and eliminating redundant testing and

       certification requirements while maintaining high standards of health, safety and

       environmental protection;



   -   considering measures and initiatives in areas such as the chemical, automotive,

       transportation, and information and communication technology sectors; and



   -   undertaking trilateral cooperation to accelerate and strengthen our national and

       regional risk-based chemical assessment and management efforts.



   The Intellectual Property Action Strategy released today by:



   -   developing collaborative measures to improve the detection and deterrence of

       counterfeiting and piracy, expanding public awareness of the importance of

       intellectual property to our economies and for consumer health and safety, and

       better measuring the scope and magnitude of counterfeiting and piracy in North

       America; and



   -   taking steps such as developing best practices for enforcement and sharing

       information and intelligence on border enforcement techniques.









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We also endorse our ministers� plans to:



    -   develop an economic work plan to respond to the ever increasing pressures on

        North American competitiveness and to facilitate trade in specific sectors to foster

        stronger North American value chains; and



    -   conduct an analysis of the free trade agreements that each country has negotiated

        subsequent to the NAFTA, beginning with those in the western hemisphere,

        including opportunities for innovative provisions on rules of origin.



Safe Food and Products



In order to promote the safety of imported products that enter North America and to

facilitate trade, we ask ministers to:



-   strengthen existing mechanisms within the region and the exchange information on

    import-safety issues, with the objective of enhancing the safety of food and products

    before they enter our countries; and



-   identify and share with their SPP counterparts the best practices used by importing

    companies in each country to secure their supply chains and ensure that quality and

    safety are built into products before they are exported.



Sustainable Energy and the Environment



Balancing our energy requirements with the stewardship of our environment is one of the

greatest challenges of our time. We need to enhance our research into new and clean

technologies, facilitate the deployment of these technologies to the market, and improve

our energy efficiency. We ask our ministers to advance work over the next year to:



-   identify and pursue cooperative energy science and technology activities under the

    newly signed Trilateral Agreement for Cooperation in Energy and Science

    Technology;



-   reduce barriers to the deployment of new and clean technologies;



-   continue with efforts to align energy efficiency standards in key products and standby

    power consumption;









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-   cooperate for our mutual benefit in the development of biofuels, vehicle fuel

    efficiency technologies and technologies to reduce emissions; and



-   share information and experience and cooperate in efforts to achieve comparable

    emission measurement, reporting and verification, in order to develop publicly

    available national emissions inventories. This exchange would include sharing of

    emissions information on, for example, NOx, SOx, CO2, VOCs, NH3, Hg and

    particulates.



Smart and Secure Borders



Our three countries have a long history of cooperative border management, predicated on

the understanding that our prosperity and security depend on borders that operate

efficiently and effectively under all circumstances. In some cases, the best time to screen

travellers and commerce is before they enter North America. Coordinated, mutually

acceptable procedures for detecting threats far from our borders are a means to do this.

Recognizing differences in legal frameworks and policies, and noting the positive effect

on our common security of current information sharing initiatives, we will seek to

enhance our cooperation in this respect.



We ask ministers to continue to pursue measures to facilitate the safe and secure

movement of trade and travellers across our borders and, in particular, to:



-   expedite air transportation through the development of comparable protocols and

    procedures to eliminate duplicate screening for baggage placed on a connecting flight

    in North America, and for inbound and outbound air cargo shipments;



-   develop mutually acceptable approaches to screening for radiological and other

    similar threats, to include general aviation pathways, and to continue to undertake

    cooperative or joint research to manage such threats;



-   develop mutually acceptable approaches to screening people during a pandemic;



-   pursue, according to our respective laws, new, innovative and interoperable law

    enforcement models that promote seamless operations at the border, such as the

    Canada-US International Maritime Security Operations, to better protect our citizens

    from criminal and terrorist threats;



-   improve and expand existing radio communications available to law enforcement

    agencies working on border security and cross-border law enforcement;









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-   work with stakeholders to identify ways to further enhance benefits of trusted

    traveller programs (NEXUS, FAST and SENTRI), including through expanding and

    streamlining application processing, further program integration and coordinated

    infrastructure investments;



-   alleviate bottlenecks at the US-Mexico border, facilitate the legitimate flow of trade

    and people, and increase border security to address specific border issues related to

    congestion, current and future infrastructure needs, customs cooperation, stakeholder

    outreach and technology; and



-   Canada and the US will maintain a high priority on the development of enhanced

    capacity of the border crossing infrastructure in the Detroit-Windsor region, the

    world's busiest land crossing.



Emergency Management and Preparedness



Neighbours help each other in times of distress. Our governments have worked together

to address how we might better prevent, prepare for, and respond to disasters � either

natural or man-made � by developing a common approach to all aspects of emergency

management. We ask our ministers to continue this work and specifically to:



-   define, develop and coordinate appropriate responses to catastrophic incidents in

    North America; and



-   develop bilateral and trilateral protocols and procedures through the Canada-Mexico-

    United States Emergency Management Council to manage the movement of goods

    and people, including emergency responders, across our shared borders during and

    following an emergency, and to improve communications among governments and

    between governments and industry, particularly during times of increased threat.









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 THE SECURITY AND PROSPERITY PARTNERSHIP OF NORTH AMERICA:



                KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS SINCE MARCH 2006



Strengthening the Competitiveness of North America



   �   To lower costs for business, maximize trade and protect health, safety and the

       environment, our governments completed a trilateral Regulatory Cooperation

       Framework. The framework promotes information sharing among regulators

       and greater compatibility of regulations and regulatory processes.



   �   To enhance our common efforts to protect intellectual property rights, the three

       governments finalized an Action Strategy to combat trademark counterfeiting

       and copyright piracy.



   �   To strengthen our energy security, environmental protection and economic

       sustainability, our governments finalized a Trilateral Agreement for

       Cooperation in Energy Science and Technology.



   �   To increase trade among our three countries, our governments implemented

       changes to the NAFTA rules of origin by mid-2006 that covered approximately

       $30 billion in annual trilateral trade. An additional set of changes, agreed to in

       2007, will reduce export-related transaction costs for approximately $100 billion

       in annual trilateral trade.



   �   To promote safety and the seamless flow of goods across our border, Canada and

       the United States have agreed to the reciprocal recognition of containers used

       for the transportation of dangerous goods.



   �   To enhance the introduction of new wireless services and technologies, Canada

       and the United States have implemented a new process to expedite radio

       spectrum sharing arrangements for the border regions. This ensures

       citizens have timely access to the latest wireless services, and public safety and

       national security authorities have the spectrum they need, when they need it.



   �   To improve the compatibility and reliability of critically important wireless

       communications for public safety/first responders, Mexico and the United

       States signed a protocol in August facilitating cross border communications.









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   �   To facilitate the trade of telecommunications equipment, Canada and the

       United States recognized each other's testing and certification for

       telecommunications equipment. Mexico will have a process in place by the end

       of 2007 to mutually accept test reports from the US and Canada. This reduces

       production costs and shortens the time to bring new products to market.



   �   To modernize aviation relations and provide airlines with added flexibility to

       offer better choices and services, the United States and Canada signed and

       implemented the text of a comprehensive Open-Skies air transport agreement

       on March 12, 2007.



   �   To increase border crossing efficiency at the port of entry, the United States and

       Mexico announced synchronized, extended hours of operation at the Santa

       Teresa/San Jeronimo Port of Entry starting September 2007.



   �   As part of the North American Steel Strategy, North American governments

       launched a trilateral, publicly-available North American Steel Trade Monitor

       website presenting North American steel trade data on a consolidated basis.



   �   Mexico and the United States established a bilateral Border Facilitation

       Working Group to advance in the areas of infrastructure, technology,

       coordination, and stakeholder outreach and engagement while ensuring high

       levels of security at our points of entry.



Improving the Safety and Security of our Citizens



   �   To better detect nuclear and radiological material at ports, the Mexican

       government has agreed to install advanced radiological detection technology at

       the ports of Lázaro Cárdenas, Altamira, Manzanillo and Veracruz. About 92

       percent of Mexico’s maritime cargo passes through these ports.



   �   To improve surveillance at ports, Canada has completed the installation of

       radiation detection equipment in Saint John, Montreal, Halifax and Deltaport in

       Vancouver which, when fully operational, will screen 100 percent of inbound

       containers.



   �   To improve the security and predictability of travel documents, Canada and

       the United States approved the Recommended Standards for Secure Proof of

       Status and Nationality.









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   �   To enhance and strengthen cargo security programs, Canada and the United

       Sates initiated a five-year program to harmonize automated commercial

       information systems.



Protecting our Environment, Health and Quality of Life



   �   To detect, contain and control an avian influenza outbreak, and to mitigate the

       impacts of a possible human influenza pandemic in North America, our

       governments have finalized a North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic

       Influenza.



   �   To promote energy efficiency, our governments have harmonized energy

       performance standards for key household appliances and consumer

       products, such as freezers, refrigerators and room air conditioners.



   �   To raise the health status of indigenous people, Canada, Mexico and the United

       States exchanged information and research on various indigenous health issues,

       including suicide prevention, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, diabetes and

       indigenous health systems.



   �   To benefit our environment and quality of life, Canada and the United States

       signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) aimed at improving motor vehicle

       fuel efficiency. The MoC will allow the two countries to benefit from each

       others knowledge and experience in the area of fuel efficiency.



   �   To protect the environment, enhance health of people and promote the

       competitiveness of the automotive industry, Mexico started a program to gradually

       increase, from 2006 to 2009, the supply of low sulphur fuels in all the country.



   �   To improve the ecological health of our shared marine resources, our

       governments continued to expand the North American Marine Protected Areas

       (MPA) Network. The Network will use our countries' marine protected areas in

       the development of a tri-national MPA-based monitoring program stretching from

       Baja to the Bering Strait.



   �   To assure the safety of consumers and the security of our food and

       agriculture systems, Canada, Mexico and the United States agreed to share

       current threat and vulnerability assessment methodology and information for the

       food and agriculture systems, including imported and exported foods of higher

       concern, then undertake joint threat and vulnerability assessments.









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�   To better inform our citizens and civil society and receive input on our

    collaborative efforts under the SPP framework, the governments of Mexico and

    Canada hosted seminars with academics and specialists on the three countries

    as part of an ongoing public policy consultation process regarding the future of

    North America.









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