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On the Summit's Sidelines

By Carin Zissis

For all the talk about Cuba and Venezuela, leaders moved forward on other fronts as well during the weekend's Summit of the Americas. On the sidelines, U.S. President Barack Obama signaled action on a trade pact with Colombia and a hemispheric clean-energy partnership.

U.S. President Barack Obama opened the Summit of the Americas by saying, “I didn’t come here to debate the past—I came here to deal with the future.” Will his administration be able to do just that in the wake of this weekend’s summit in Trinidad & Tobago? Moreover, what happened on the sidelines while history—from the matter of the U.S. embargo on Cuba to the Venezuelan president’s gift—dominated headlines?

Summit coverage focused on the uninvited Cuba and a handshake between Obama and Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, overshadowing the global economic crisis and the signing of the 97-point summit declaration. Or the lack of a signing. As the summit ended, Trinidad’s Prime Minister Peter Manning disclosed that the meeting had ended without unanimity on the declaration.

Yet, sideline meetings elicited action on several fronts. After the president’s return from Port of Spain, the White House announced that Obama will not reopen the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for talks, signaling a shift from a campaign pledge. U.S. Trade Representative Ronald Kirk told reporters that Obama, Mexico’s President Felipe Calderón, and Canada’s Prime Minister Harper, “are all of the mind we should look for opportunities to strengthen NAFTA” after the three met in Trinidad & Tobago.

Moreover, even though Obama cancelled a bilateral meeting with Colombian President Álvaro Uribe during the summit, the two spoke on Saturday. During what Medellin-based Colombia Reports called a “power lunch,” Obama pledged not only to make a stop in Colombia during his next trip to Latin America, but also invited Uribe to visit Washington. Kirk met with Uribe after having been given a directive to overcome hurdles to completing the bilateral trade pact. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the jailing of a Panamanian leader for murder of an American citizen clears an obstacle for approving a U.S.-Panama trade deal as well.

Obama also announced a clean-energy partnership in which countries from across the hemisphere would learn from each other to expand knowledge about clean energy sources and to combat global warming. During a press conference, the president said examples of expertise include Brazil on biofuels, Chile on solar power, El Salvador on geothermal energy, and Mexico on cutting emissions. Which countries will participate has yet to be announced.

Obama, the summit’s rock star, prevailed in the Port of Spain popularity contest. As Andres Oppenheimer wrote in his Miami Herald column, “Obama won near unanimous praise from hemispheric leaders for Zen-like willingness to listen, and reach out to U.S. critics.” Latin American Herald Tribune reports that the summit closed “amid a climate of cordiality” that saw Chávez saying he will restore the post of Venezuelan ambassador to the United States.

The president also worked to distance his administration from previous ones. After Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega delivered a scathing 50-minute speech, Obama responded during his own remarks by saying, “I'm grateful that President Ortega did not blame me for things that happened when I was three months old.”

Still, the parts of Obama’s speech highlighted on the White House website addressed history and, in particular, Cuba. Latin American leaders urged an end to the embargo, even as the president called for a “new beginning” with Havana. This comment came after Cuban President Raúl Castro declared he would be willing to discuss human rights, press freedoms, and political prisoners with Washington. (See an AS/COA analysis for more) Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” this weekend, the National Economic Council Director Larry Summers indicated an end to the embargo remains a long way off.

The Council of the Americas published a Trade Advisory Group report in January—Building the Hemispheric Growth Agenda: A New Framework for Policy—offering recommendations ahead of and after the Summit of the Americas, particularly in the areas of energy security and trade.

Visit AS/COA’s Resource Guide on the Summit of the Americas for more information.

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