Differences endure as Biden brings back North America summit

WASHINGTON (AP) — North America's leaders are reviving three-way summitry after a Trump-era break.

As President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador resume the tradition of the North America Leaders Summit on Thursday, the three allies face deep differences on migration, climate and trade.

There's “not that much in common between them, at least in their vision for what they want for their countries,” said Kenneth Frankel, president of the Canadian Council for the Americas. “Not just what they want for their countries, but what they can deliver for their countries.”

Thursday's meetings at the White House will be the first trilateral get-together for North American leaders since a June 2016 gathering of Trudeau, Barack Obama and Enrique Peña Nieto in Ottawa. The gatherings took a hiatus under President Donald Trump, who feuded with Trudeau and Nieto during his tenure.

Biden has made some progress in repairing relations with U.S. neighbors after the turbulent Trump years. But many significant strains remain — and some new ones have emerged.

Trudeau arrived in Washington with concerns about buy-American provisions in the president's proposed $1.85 trillion social services plan. Mexico’s priorities heading into the summit were to obtain concrete advances on immigration and more equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

The tradition of three-way meetings started when George W. Bush played host to Mexico's Vicente Fox and Canada's Paul Martin in 2005 for talks at his ranch in Waco, Texas.

Biden has already held separate virtual meetings with Trudeau in February and López Obrador in March.

Biden will meet separately with Trudeau and López Obrador again on Thursday before the leaders hold a trilateral session in the...