North America Must Integrate for Trade, Calderon Says 'North American economies must better integrate or risk falling further behind in competitiveness with Europe and Asia, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said. ``North America has been losing market share in world exports,'' Calderon said today at the Economic Club of New York. ``We in North America are losing time.'' ============= North America Must Integrate for Trade, Calderon Says (Update2) By Fabiola Moura and Jens Erik Gould Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- North American economies must better integrate or risk falling further behind in competitiveness with Europe and Asia, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said. ``North America has been losing market share in world exports,'' Calderon said today at the Economic Club of New York. ``We in North America are losing time.'' Calderon called on the U.S. earlier this week to preserve the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying Sept. 23 that any renegotiation may be harmful. He said today that Mexico, which sells 80 percent of its exports to the U.S., is diversifying more toward Europe and Latin America. U.S. critics of free trade have been more vocal this year as confidence in the economy erodes, and Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has said Nafta should be changed to include labor and environmental standards. Calderon also said the U.S. and Mexico need to improve security and efficiency at their shared border, and that border control hasn't improved since Nafta came into effect. ``We need to diminish the transportation and logistical costs,'' said Calderon, who received a standing ovation at the end of his speech. ``This is how Nafta can improve.'' Pemex Proposal Calderon also urged Mexico's Congress to vote on his proposal to give state oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos more leeway to hire private and foreign companies. The president says his bill will help the company invest to reverse declining oil output. He said today that Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA was an example of a successful state-controlled company. ``Of course, it's a very sensitive issue. In political terms, it's like a capital sin to talk about it,'' he said, provoking laughter from a roomful of bankers, investors and diplomats at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. ``Take a decision,'' he said in reference to Congress. ``We don't have time to waste. We're losing capability of production.'' Pemex on Sept. 22 said that crude oil output fell 9.2 percent to 2.834 million barrels a day in the first eight months of the year. Declining output is costing 275 billion pesos ($26 billion) in sales this year and threatening Mexico's budget, as 40 percent of the government's revenue comes from Pemex royalties. Congress may vote on the issue as soon as next month. Calderon submitted his initiative in April. Fighting Drug Cartels The president said he will continue to use the army, navy and federal police to enforce the law. Since taking power in late 2006, Calderon has sent tens of thousands of soldiers to regions where violence is escalating as drug cartels are battling for territory. ``Everyday I dream of a safer Mexico,'' Calderon said. Groups such as Human Rights Watch have criticized the government's policy of using the military to fight drug traffickers in civilian areas, pointing out rights violations committed by the military. They advocated for the U.S. to include conditions to help prevent abuses in a $400 million anti-drug aid package for Mexico, known as the Merida Initiative, that was approved in June. U.S. lawmakers agreed to partly soften those conditions after Mexican officials objected. ``If the U.S. government is going to engage in a multi-year partnership with Mexico, the government has to ensure it's not giving a blank check to abusive security forces,'' said Tamara Taraciuk, researcher on Mexican issues for Human Rights Watch in Washington. Mexico's president, speaking yesterday at the United Nations General Assembly, urged all countries to work together to prevent violence committed by organized crime gangs. Mexican drug cartels have grown powerful on profits from selling marijuana, cocaine and heroin to U.S. users. Violence related to trafficking has resulted in almost 3,300 killings this year, including the assassination of about 300 policemen. To contact the reporters on this story: Fabiola Moura in New York atfdemoura@bloomberg.net; Jens Erik Gould in Mexico City atjgould9@bloomberg.net
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
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