Boosting Economic Growth Throughout North America

President Barack Obama holds a joint press conference with President Felipe Calderon of Mexico, left, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada in the Rose Garden of the White House, April 2, 2012. The press conference was held in conjunction with the North American Leaders Summit. (Official White House Photo by Sonya Hebert)

President Obama today hosted the leaders of Mexico and Canada at the White House for a summit aimed at promoting economic growth and and creating jobs in all three countries.

Last year, U.S. trade with Mexico and Canada exceed $1 trillion for the first time. And finding ways to continue boosting exports was one goal of today's talks.

At a press conference in the Rose Garden, President Obama was able to point to an initative that will help to accomplish that objective:

I’m pleased to announce that our three nations are launching a new effort to get rid of outdated regulations that stifle job creation. Here in the United States, our efforts to cut red tape and ensure smart regulations will help achieve savings and benefits to businesses, consumers, and our country of more than $100 billion. And we’re already working to streamline and coordinate regulations with Canada and Mexico on a bilateral basis. So now our three nations are going to sit down together, go through the books and simplify and eliminate more regulations that will make our joint economies stronger.

This builds on conversations between the U.S. and Canada that were announced when Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the White House back in December.

In today's talks, the leaders also discussed security, energy, and efforts to combat drug cartels.