March 2007     

The North American Union

By Henry Lamb

The North American Union is a grand vision to dissolve national borders between Mexico, the United States, and Canada and merge the three nations into a single political, economic, cultural region.

This vision has evolved quietly over the decades, but emerged into public view with the signing of the Security and Prosperity Partnership, by President George W. Bush, Mexico's President, Vicente Fox, and Canada's Prime Minister, Paul Martin.

The Security & Prosperity Partnership is one of many political agreements, which, like building blocks, are constructing the North American Union.

Robert Pastor has been called the "Father of the North American Union." His book, Toward a North American Community, and his research papers for the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations, describe his vision of the North American Union.

Pastor says the three nations of the North American Union should:

• Adopt a common external tariff
• Adopt a North American Approach to Regulation
• Establish a common security perimeter by 2010
• Establish a North American investment fund
• Establish a permanent tribunal for North American dispute resolution
• Hold an annual North American Summit meeting
• Establish minister-led working groups
• Create a North American Advisory Council
• Create a North American Inter-Parliamentary Group

Pastor's vision has been under construction for decades. In 1975, Pastor was executive director of the Linowitz Commission on U.S./Latin American Relations. He then was appointed Director of the Office of Latin American Affairs in the Carter administration. He maneuvered the Panama Canal Treaty through the Senate in 1978. He was nominated by Bill Clinton, to be Ambassador to Panama, but not confirmed. He has been advisor to every Democratic presidential candidate since 1976. And, in 2002, he became Vice President of International Affairs and Professor of International Relations at American University.

Among the many political agreements that are constructing the North American Union, are the (1983) La Paz Agreement, in which the U.S. and Mexico agree to cooperate on environmental issues. In 1993, the agreement was expanded to include Agenda 21's "Sustainable Development" principles through the "Border Region XXI" program.

Then comes the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, as well as the first Summit on the Free Trade Area of the Americas. In 1996, the North American SuperCorridor Coalition was organized. The Second FTAA Summit was held in Santiago. In 2001, Robert Pastor published Toward A North American Community, the Kansas City Smart Port was organized, and the Third FTAA Summit was held in Quebec.

In 2004, the Trans-Texas Corridor was formed. And, in 2005, the Central American Free Trade Agreement was approved by just one vote in the House of Representatives. These are just a few of the agreements and events that are building the North American Union.

NAFTA is one of the most important building blocks of the North American Union. In fact, Robert Pastor says: "NAFTA was merely the first draft of an economic constitution for North America" (Foreign Affairs, January/February, 2004). Let's take a closer look at the North American Free Trade Agreement.

NAFTA became effective January 1, 1994. It is governed by a Commission consisting of a cabinet level appointee from each country. It is implemented by a Secretariat, consisting of appointees of the Commission. Take note: NAFTA is governed by appointed officials. The people who make NAFTA's trade policy are not directly accountable to the electorate.

For dispute settlement, NAFTA offers two primary options: the procedures of the World Bank's International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID); or the procedures of the United Nations Commission for International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

NAFTA's Article 511 requires that each nation conform its laws to the "Uniform Regulations" adopted by the appointed policy makers, and that any modifications or additions to the Uniform Regulations, be adopted by the member nations within 180 days.

CAFTA, too, is governed by a Commission consisting of "Cabinet level appointees," who, in turn, appoint "Committees and Working Groups" to implement the Agreement.

Both NAFTA and CAFTA are the responsibility of the United States Trade Representative, but the Department of Commerce also has responsibilities for implementation. The USTR is an agency within the Executive Offices of the President.

Susan C. Schwab is the current U.S. Trade Representative, and represents the United States on the NAFTA Commission. Carla A. Hills was the U.S. Trade Representative who negotiated NAFTA. She is the same Carla Hills who served on the Council on Foreign Relations' Task Force, with vice-chair Robert Pastor, that produced the CFR's special report "Building a North American Community." Pastor provided Congressional testimony and wrote many articles in favor of NAFTA during the negotiations. This helps to explain why Pastor's vision for a North American Community is so closely reflected in the North American Free Trade Agreement.

NAFTA brought more building blocks. The "Ports-to-Plains" Trade Corridor Coalition was organized in 1997, to promote a trade route from Mexico through central Texas and Denver. The North America SuperCorridor Coalition was formed in 1996, to promote a corridor through East Texas and Kansas City. And, in 2002, the Texas Department of Transportation created the Trans-Texas Corridor.

The Trans-Texas Corridor is a project within the Texas Department of Transportation. They are studying expansion of the I-35 corridor through the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and the I-69 corridor, through the Houston area. The preferred I-35 corridor alone, is 521 miles long, and includes 5,307 square miles.

The Texas concept is truly a SuperCorridor, that could be up to 1200 feet wide; that's four football fields end-to-end. Six lanes of auto traffic. Four lanes of truck traffic. Rail lines for freight. Rail lines for people. An a utility corridor for oil and gas pipelines, electricity transmission, and telecommunications.

Work on the SuperCorridor has been underway since February, 2004. The first public meetings were held between April and June, 2004. More public meetings were held in 2005. The draft Environmental Impact Statement was completed in April, 2006. Fifty-six public meetings were held in July and August, 2006. In all, 173 public meetings have been held, and more than 4000 public comments have been collected. The final Environmental Impact Statement is scheduled for completion in the Fall of 2006, and final federal approval is expected in the Summer of 2007.

At a public meeting in San Antonio, 1200 people showed up; 300 had to be turned away. In Temple, 1600 people showed up.

In the Professional community, the SuperCorridor concept has been well received by both government and business. The North American SuperCorridor Coalition has received a $2.5 million dollar grant from the federal government, and has members in Canada, Mexico, and the United States who have paid from $2,500 to $50,000 for the privilege.

Among those members are the Kansas City Southern Lines, and the Kansas City Smart Port. In 2005, Kansas City Southern acquired a Mexican Railroad Company, and the Panama Canal Railroad. Now they control the rail lines from Mexico's southernmost ports of Lazaro Cardenas and Veracruz, to Kansas City.

Kansas City is working to become the nation's Super Inland Port, through a non-profit economic development organization called Kansas City Smart Port, formed in 2001.

By Resolution No. 060343, in April, 2006, the Kansas City Council is allowing the construction of a Mexican Customs facility on land that the city owns. The facility will be named: Kansas City Customs Port.

Preparations are being made for container freight off-loaded in Mexico's ports, to move by rail and truck directly to the Kansas City SuperPort. New technology is expected to reduce the U.S./Mexico border to nothing more than an electronic speed bump.

Along with the new SuperCorridor concept, comes a new concept in financing: Public/Private Partnerships. In December of 2004, The Texas Department of Transportation "partnered" with Cintra-Zachry, who will invest $6 billion dollars in the construction of the first segment of the SuperCorridor, and then give it to TxDOT, along with another $1.2 billion for the right to build and operate the Trans-Texas Corridor for the next 50 years. Cintra is a Spanish company that partnered with the Australian Macquarie Infrastructure Group, to acquire a 99-years lease to operate the Chicago Skyway. This public/private partnership paid the City of Chicago $1.83 billion for the privilege. They also acquire the 157-mile Indiana Tollway for 75 years, and paid Indiana $3.85 billion dollars.

This new method of financing infrastructure has generated a lot of excitement among public officials. Greg Carey, Managing Director of Goldman, Sachs & Company, told the Texas Transportation Forum, that virtually all public infrastructure assets should be available for financing, or refinancing using this method of public/private partnership arrangement. Why are private investors willing to spend such staggering sums? Tolls and fees provide a long-term, reliable income stream they cannot resist. Let's look at what's in store for the Indiana Toll Road users. Commercial fees will nearly double in the first four years, while auto tolls remain flat. Then in 2010, auto tolls will "catch up" with the commercial rates, and both will increase each year thereafter.

Carey says that all but 14 states have already changed their laws, or are currently considering legislation, to allow this public/private partnership method of financing with foreign investors.

Foreign investment also dominates the ports that will be handling the freight loaded onto Kansas City Southern Lines in Veracruz, and Lazaro Cardenas. These ports that are owned, or operated by the Chinese Holding Company, Hutchinson Whampoa Limited.

This mega-corporation is capitalized at more than $700 billion dollars, has operations in 54 countries, and more than 200,000 employees worldwide. They own 43 port facilities in 21 countries which includes the ports at both ends of the Panama Canal.

Another ominous building block toward the North American Union is the "North American Cooperative Security Act," introduced in the Senate (S-853) by Indiana's Richard Lugar, and in the House by Florida's Katherine Harris (HR-2672). This bill does not create the North American Union, but it does provide a legislative underpinning for activities that are now underway by several "committees" and "working groups." If enacted, the State Department will be required to provide semi-annual reports to Congress on the progress toward implementation of virtually all the goals set forth by the Security and Prosperity Partnership. These goals are virtually all of the elements Robert Pastor said were necessary to create the North American Union. These elements include: a common external tariff; a common security perimeter; an electronic "speed bump" called SENTRI (Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection); and a biometric-based tri-national database.

In an effort to counter some of the adverse publicity, the official White House Security and Prosperity Partnership web pages posted a "Myth-Fact" pages, which claims "The SPP in no way, shape or form considers the creation of a European Union-like structure...."

The events and facts on the ground, however, strongly suggest that just the opposite is true.

NAFTA provides the legal foundation. CAFTA expands the foundation to Central America. The SuperCorridor opens the flood gate. And the Security and Prosperity Partnership provides guidance to Congress. Regardless of the denials and claims to the contrary, the major elements for a North American Union are in place, and progressing rapidly. This may be progress toward a much larger picture.

When NAFTA went into force in 1994, the Free Trade Area of the Americas was launched with Summit in Miami. These negotiations have continued over the years, in an effort to expand the "Union" concept to the continent.

This fits nicely into the United Nations' organization chart which divides the world into five administrative regions. Of course, any relationship to the United Nations will also be denied, and may be purely coincidental.

There can be no question that NAFTA, CAFTA, the Trans-Texas Corridor, and related activities, are changing America dramatically. Proponents contend that these changes will strengthen the nation; others contend that our national sovereignty is being erased. The transfer of policy-making power to appointed officials, committees and working groups, advisory boards and tri-lateral parliamentary councils - is not the form of government described in the U.S. Constitution. The only power on earth strong enough to redirect this rush toward Robert Pastor's vision of a North American Community, is the power of the people who choose to exercise it at the ballot box.

This script is from the powerful presentation "The North American Union" produced by Henry Lamb. "The North American Union" is the most comprehensive presentation on the history, development, and implementation of the North American Union. The presentation can be viewed at www.freedom.org