Obama and the Americas

Las Vegas, NV - As President Obama begins to set a new agenda to lead the United States into a 21st century economy, he must address several pressing issues that linger from the previous administration. The top concern among most people in the country is for him to turn around our ailing economy, and there are also pressures for him to work on international relations, energy and so on. However, these issues are not necessarily isolated from each other, and in fact require the new administration to assess the implications that each has on the other.

The NY Times published a story today on Bolivia that puts these issues into clear perspective. We just concluded not long ago a contentious debate in Congress about the auto industry in America, and their struggles to compete in a global market. Much was made of the need for them to produce more fuel efficient cars and/or hybrid vehicles to help ease our country's dependence on foreign oil, yet we learn in today's story that these battery assisted vehicles will require lithium which will also have to be imported. A majority of it is located in Bolivia, a country that does not have a positive relationship with the United States due to actions from the previous administration. So in order for Detroit to be more competitive and provide more jobs here at home, we need to improve our relations abroad and import lithium from other countries. Why again are we pushing a "Buy American" agenda?

President Obama will be attending the Summit of the America's in April of this year, and has an opportunity to change course from the previous administration and improve our relationships with our neighbors in the Western Hemisphere. NDN friend Thomas Andrew O'Keefe writes about this important event here.