North American leaders agree to expand trade into Asia

Toluca, Mexico • Pressed by North American allies on an array of politically fraught issues, President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed to press ahead with stalled efforts to expand trade agreements for the Americas into Asia and overhaul fractured U.S. immigration laws. But Obama made no promises to frustrated Canadian leaders about his long-anticipated decision on the Keystone XL pipeline.

Closing a day of talks with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, Obama said the North American partners must maintain their "competitive advantage" on trade, in part by expanding into the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region. He downplayed opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement from members of his own Democratic Party on Capitol Hill.

"We'll get this passed if it's a good agreement," Obama said during a joint news conference with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The North America Leaders' Summit — often referred to as the "Three Amigos" meeting — coincided with the 20th year of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among the three countries, a deal that has vastly expanded cross-border commerce in the region, but it remains a contentious issue in the United States over its impact on jobs and on environmental protections.

Trade experts say the agreement is due for an upgrade to take into account the globalized environment and to address issues not touched on in the original pact. But rather than reopen NAFTA, the three countries are instead relying on negotiations to complete the TPP, which is a trade bloc of 12 countries in the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.

Pena Nieto and Harper echoed Obama's support for expanding North American trade into Asia and the Pacific.

Mexican government officials and the public alike are eager for progress in overhauling U.S. immigration laws. The prospects for sweeping legislation this year has dimmed in recent weeks, as many House Republicans are unwilling to tackle the issue in a midterm election year.

Still, Obama declared: "Immigration reform remains one of my highest priorities."

For Canada, a key source of frustration with the U.S. has been the Obama administration's long and drawn-out review of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil from tar sands in western Canada 1,179 miles to Nebraska, where existing pipelines would then carry the crude to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. Canada has been pushing the U.S. for years to approve the pipeline, but environmental groups oppose it. Obama has said he won't approve it if it increases greenhouse gas emissions.

A Nebraska judge on Wednesday struck down a law that allowed the pipeline to proceed through the state, a victory for opponents who have tried to block the project.