George W. Bush was the U.S. president at an economic summit here this weekend, but many foreign leaders were focused on President-elect Barack Obama instead. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper cautioned Obama against plans to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying it would worsen a global financial crisis. Chinese President Hu Jintao said he hoped Obama would recognize the importance of U.S.-China ties while treading carefully on the thorny issue of Taiwan.
And Mexican President Felipe Calderon, in an impassioned speech to delegates at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum on Saturday, warned Obama that any tightening of trade restrictions would send a flood of illegal immigrants into the United States. "The next U.S. administration must assume leadership in a very firm manner--not just for Americans but for the whole world," Calderon said.
| It's not like Calderon can control his country or his borders, after all ... |
Bush was returning to Washington from Peru on Sunday after securing an agreement from the 21-member group to keep trade barriers low along the Pacific Rim as leaders fashion responses to the global financial storm. The APEC statement closely mirrors a pledge signed in Washington on Nov. 15 by a group of the world's 20 major economies, nine of which were represented in Lima.