Trade, security focus at 'Three amigos' summit

MEXICO: Leaders of the United States, Mexico and Canada also known as "the three amigos" began a summit on Sunday in Mexico to talk about simmering trade issues and the threat of drug gangs.

U.S. President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon gathered in Guadalajara for dinner on Sunday night, to be followed by three-way talks on Monday.

At the top of their agenda is how to power their economies past a lingering downturn, keep trade flowing smoothly and grapple with Mexican gangs dominating the drug trade over the U.S. border and up into Canada. Obama's national security adviser, Jim Jones, said he doubted the leaders would announce major agreements, predicting the annual summit "is going to be a step in the continuing dialogue from which agreements will undoubtedly come."

Obama is expected to get some heat from Calderon to resolve a cross-border trucking dispute.

Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexican trucks are supposed to be allowed to cross into the United States, but U.S. trucking companies say Mexican trucks are unsafe. Mexico imposed tariffs of $2.4 billion on U.S. goods in March after Obama signed a bill canceling a program allowing them to operate beyond the U.S. border zone.

U.S. business groups have been pressing the White House to resolve the dispute, saying the ban threatens to eliminate thousands of U.S. jobs.

"Obviously, this issue is going to come up, and the president is committed to making sure that we fulfill our international obligations and that any regulations and so forth that are put into place are consistent with our agreements," deputy press secretary Bill Burton told reporters aboard Air Force One during the trip to Guadalajara.

Guadalajara, Monday, Reuters