N. American 3 rap isolationism

Trump, U.K. tinge summit

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto (from left), Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Barack Obama trade handshakes Wednesday at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto (from left), Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Barack Obama trade handshakes Wednesday at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

OTTAWA, Ontario -- The leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico convened a summit Wednesday intended to reaffirm their close cooperation on security, the environment and trade at a time of rising extremist threats around the globe and isolationist calls in the American presidential campaign.

photo

AP

President Barack Obama speaks to the Canadian Parliament on Wednesday in the House of Commons in Ottawa.

The leaders pushed back against the anti-immigrant sentiments that have roiled Britain and been championed by GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, and they warned against easy solutions peddled by those who feed on economic anxiety.

With tensions growing over terrorism and the fallout from Britain's decision to leave the European Union, President Barack Obama acknowledged that Americans and others have reason to be concerned about their future in a rapidly globalizing economy. He said concerns about immigrants had been exploited by politicians in the past, but he insisted he wasn't worried that Americans will follow that path.

"We should take some of this seriously and answer it boldly and clearly," Obama said, without naming the Republican presidential candidate. "But you shouldn't think that is representative of how the American people think."

Gathering in the Canadian capital, the leaders defended their calls for freer trade within the continent and beyond. They argued that instead of withdrawing from the world, advanced countries should focus on higher standards, wages and legal protections that would ensure the benefits of globalization are widely felt.

"The integration of national economies into a global economy, that's here. That's done," Obama said.

Obama's comments at a news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto came as the leaders sought to show unity as nationalist movements grow in Europe and elsewhere, epitomized by Britain's move to leave the 28-member EU.

Though Britain's decision has rattled the global financial system, Obama said he believed the markets were starting to settle down. Still, he acknowledged there would be "genuine longer-term concerns" about global economic growth "if, in fact, Brexit goes through" -- "Brexit" being short for "British exit."

Obama said his message to British Prime Minister David Cameron and to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is largely spearheading Europe's response, was that "everybody should catch their breath." Though Merkel and other European leaders have urged Britain to start its withdrawal quickly, Obama called for a thought-out process that would be transparent and clearly understandable.

The Canadian and Mexican leaders largely echoed Obama's calls for staying focused on closer economic ties. Pena Nieto said Mexico sees opportunity for growth and investment by broadening its relationship with the rest of the continent.

"We are competitors, yes, but we have complementary economies, and that will give more development to our society," he said.

Trudeau said the three leaders' strategy for combating protectionist views was to "highlight how much trade and positive agreement among our nations are good not only for the economy of the world and the economy of our countries, but it's also good for our citizens."

Yet it was Trump and his insistence that Americans are better served by reasserting independence that shadowed the leaders' meetings at the annual North American Leaders' Summit. Even as the three took the podium in Ottawa, Trump was threatening to pull the U.S. out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, chanting at a rally, "No more NAFTA."

The leaders announced changes to the trade agreement, "liberalizing" rules of origin for a range of products while calling for action to address excess global steel supply and illicit financial flows that could benefit terror groups.

When a reporter asked the leaders to weigh in on Trump, Obama intervened, suggesting his counterparts should be careful what they say in case Trump wins the November election.

"I'm not saying they shouldn't answer," Obama joked. "I'm just -- I'm helping them out a little bit."

He bristled at Trump's claims to represent the public's best interests, accusing the presumptive Republican nominee of wrongly purporting to be a populist. He said people like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders rightly deserve label of "populist" but that Trump is merely resorting to "nativism," "xenophobia" and "cynicism."

"We have to call this mentality what it is: a threat to the values that we profess, the values we seek to defend," Obama said later during a speech to the Canadian Parliament, where an audience of about 1,000 interrupted him repeatedly with standing ovations. They chanted "four more years" as Obama wrapped up his address.

Ahead of the summit, Canada announced it will lift visa requirements for Mexican visitors as of December, and Pena Nieto agreed to open markets to Canadian beef.

The leaders also officially unveiled a climate-action plan that includes a commitment to see half of the continent's electricity generated by clean sources by 2025, including nuclear, hydro, other renewables, and carbon capture and storage projects.

The partnership seeks to impose new restrictions on some industries to cut emissions and spur a greener economy on the heels of last year's Paris climate summit.

The pledges underscore the political alignment of the leaders after a standoff last year over TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL pipeline. Obama vetoed a bill that would've approve the pipeline's path through the U.S.

A White House official said the North American climate plan shows the three countries have moved definitively beyond Keystone.

"The Paris Agreement was a turning point for our planet," the leaders said in a joint statement. "Our actions to align climate and energy policies will protect human health and help level the playing field for our businesses, households and workers."

Information for this article was contributed by Kevin Freking, Rob Gillies, Josh Lederman, Kathleen Hennessey and Darlene Superville of The Associated Press and Angela Greiling Keane and Josh Wingrove of Bloomberg News.

A Section on 06/30/2016

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