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Skriven 2005-03-23 23:34:12 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0503231) for Wed, 2005 Mar 23
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Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America Prosperity Agenda
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 23, 2005

Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America Prosperity Agenda



PROSPERITY AGENDA

Promoting Growth, Competitiveness and Quality of Life

To enhance the competitive position of North American industries in the
global marketplace and to provide greater economic opportunity for all of
our societies, while maintaining high standards of health and safety for
our people, the United States, Mexico, and Canada will work together, and
in consultation with stakeholders, to:

Improve Productivity

  þ Regulatory Cooperation to Generate Growth

      þ Lower costs for North American businesses, producers, and consumers
        and maximize trade in goods and services across our borders by
        striving to ensure compatibility of regulations and standards and
        eliminating redundant testing and certification requirements.

      þ Strengthen regulatory cooperation, including at the onset of the
        regulatory process, to minimize barriers.

  þ Sectoral Collaboration to Facilitate Business

      þ Explore new approaches to enhance the competitiveness of North
        American industries by promoting greater cooperation in sectors
        such as autos, steel, and other sectors identified through
        consultations.

      þ Strengthen North America's energy markets by working together,
        according to our respective legal frameworks, to increase reliable
        energy supplies for the region's needs and development, by
        facilitating investment in energy infrastructure, technology
        improvements, production and reliable delivery of energy; by
        enhancing cooperation to identify and utilize best practices, and
        to streamline and update regulations; and by promoting energy
        efficiency, conservation, and technologies such as clean coal,
        carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and renewable energy.

      þ Improve the safety and efficiency of North America's transportation
        system by expanding market access, facilitating multimodal
        corridors, reducing congestion, and alleviating bottlenecks at the
        border that inhibit growth and threaten our quality of life (e.g.,
        expand air services agreements, increase airspace capacity,
        initiate an Aviation Safety Agreement process, pursue smart border
        information technology initiatives, ensure compatibility of
        regulations and standards in areas such as statistics, motor
        carrier and rail safety, and working with responsible
        jurisdictions, develop mechanisms for enhanced road infrastructure
        planning, including an inventory of border transportation
        infrastructure in major corridors and public-private financing
        instruments for border projects).

      þ Work towards the freer flow of capital and the efficient provision
        of financial services throughout North America (e.g., facilitate
        cross-border electronic access to stock exchanges without
        compromising investor protection, further collaboration on training
        programs for bank, insurance and securities regulators and
        supervisors, seek ways to improve convenience and cost of insurance
        coverage for carriers engaged in cross border commerce).

      þ Stimulate and accelerate cross-border technology trade by
        preventing unnecessary barriers from being erected (e.g., agree on
        mutual recognition of technical requirements for telecommunications
        equipment, tests and certification; adopt a framework of common
        principles for e-commerce).

  þ Investing in Our People

      þ Work through the Partnership for Prosperity and the Canada-Mexico
        Partnership to strengthen our cooperation in the development of
        human capital in North America, including by expanding partnerships
        in higher education, science, and technology.

Reduce the Costs of Trade

  þ Efficient Movement of Goods

      þ Lower the transaction costs of trade in goods by liberalizing the
        requirements for obtaining duty-free treatment under NAFTA,
        including through the reduction of "rules of origin" costs on goods
        traded between our countries. Each country should have in place
        procedures to allow speedy implementation of rules of origin
        modifications.

      þ Increase competitiveness by exploring additional supply chain
        options, such as by rationalizing minor differences in external
        tariffs, consistent with multilateral negotiation strategies.

  þ Efficient Movement of People

      þ Identify measures to facilitate further the movement of business
        persons within North America and discuss ways to reduce taxes and
        other charges residents face when returning from other North
        American countries.

Enhance the Quality of Life

  þ Joint Stewardship of our Environment

      þ Expand cooperative work to improve air quality, including reducing
        sulphur in fuels, mercury emissions, and marine emissions.

      þ Enhance water quality by working bilaterally, trilaterally and
        through existing regional bodies such as the International Boundary
        and Water Commission and the International Joint Commission.

      þ Combat the spread of invasive species in both coastal and fresh
        waters.

      þ Enhance partnerships and incentives to conserve habitat for
        migratory species, thereby protecting biodiversity.

      þ Develop complementary strategies for oceans stewardship by
        emphasizing an ecosystem approach, coordinating and integrating
        existing marine managed areas, and improving fisheries management.

  þ Creating a Safer and More Reliable Food Supply while Facilitating
    Agricultural Trade

      þ Pursue common approaches to enhanced food safety and accelerate the
        identification, management and recovery from foodborne and animal
        and plant disease hazards, which will also facilitate trade.

      þ Enhance laboratory coordination and information-sharing by
        conducting targeted bilateral and/or trilateral activities to
        establish a mechanism to exchange information on laboratory methods
        and to build confidence regarding each other's testing procedures
        and results.

      þ Increase cooperation in the development of regulatory policy
        related to the agricultural biotechnology sectors in Canada, Mexico
        and the United States, through the work of the North American
        Biotechnology Initiative (NABI).

  þ Protect Our People from Disease

      þ Enhance public health cross-border coordination in infectious
        diseases surveillance, prevention and control (e.g., pandemic
        influenza).

      þ Improve the health of our indigenous people through targeted
        bilateral and/or trilateral activities, including in health
        promotion, health education, disease prevention, and research.

      þ Building upon cooperative efforts under the International
        Conference on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for
        Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use, work towards the
        identification and adoption of best practices relating to the
        registration of medicinal products.

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