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== Denials == | == Denials == | ||
The creation of a North American Union, the amero or a NAFTA superhighway have all been rebuked by government officials from all three North American countries, including ] ],<ref name="globe and mail">{{cite news|last=McKenna|first=Barrie|coauthors=|title=Security and prosperity?|publisher=]|date=]|url= http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v5/content/subscribe?user_URL=http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2Fstory%2FRTGAM.20071106.wibworld06%2FBNStory%2FBusiness%2Fcolumnists&ord=1828342&brand=theglobeandmail&force_login=true |accessdate=2007-12-06}}</ref> who stated "There is no secret plan to create a North American union, or a common currency, or to intrude on the sovereignty of any of the partner nations".<ref name="commerce transcript">{{citation|title=Remarks to U.S. and Canadian Chambers of Commerce|publisher=]|date=2007-10-30 |url=http://www.commerce.gov/NewsRoom/SecretarySpeeches/PROD01_004605|accessdate=2007-12-06}}</ref> Officials from the ] have also denied such a creation.<ref name="latimes"/> After the leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States were asked about the NAU in a August 2007 press conference in Montebello, Canada, Canadian Prime Minister ] stated that he didn't believe that the NAU was a "generally expressed concern", while U.S. President ] called concerns of a North American Union "political scare tactics" and mentioned how "comical" the "difference between reality and what some people are talking on TV about."<ref name="press conference">{{citation|title=President Bush Participates in Joint Press Availability with Prime Minister Harper of Canada, and President Calderón of Mexico|publisher=].gov|date=2007-08-21 |url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/08/20070821-3.html|accessdate=2007-12-06}}</ref> | The creation of a North American Union, the amero or a NAFTA superhighway have all been rebuked by government officials from all three North American countries, including ] ],<ref name="globe and mail">{{cite news|last=McKenna|first=Barrie|coauthors=|title=Security and prosperity?|publisher=]|date=]|url= http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v5/content/subscribe?user_URL=http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2Fstory%2FRTGAM.20071106.wibworld06%2FBNStory%2FBusiness%2Fcolumnists&ord=1828342&brand=theglobeandmail&force_login=true |accessdate=2007-12-06}}</ref> who stated "There is no secret plan to create a North American union, or a common currency, or to intrude on the sovereignty of any of the partner nations".<ref name="commerce transcript">{{citation|title=Remarks to U.S. and Canadian Chambers of Commerce|publisher=]|date=2007-10-30 |url=http://www.commerce.gov/NewsRoom/SecretarySpeeches/PROD01_004605|accessdate=2007-12-06}}</ref> Officials from the ] have also denied such a creation.<ref name="latimes"/> After the leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States were asked about the NAU in a August 2007 press conference in Montebello, Canada, Canadian Prime Minister ] stated that he didn't believe that the NAU was a "generally expressed concern", while U.S. President ] called concerns of a North American Union "political scare tactics" and mentioned how "comical" the "difference between reality and what some people are talking on TV about."<ref name="press conference">{{citation|title=President Bush Participates in Joint Press Availability with Prime Minister Harper of Canada, and President Calderón of Mexico|publisher=].gov|date=2007-08-21 |url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/08/20070821-3.html|accessdate=2007-12-06}}</ref> | ||
==Notable opponents of the North American Union== | |||
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==See also == | ==See also == | ||
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== External links == | == External links == | ||
* SPP in the , and . | * SPP in the , and . | ||
* : Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should not engage in the construction of a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Superhighway System or enter into a North American Union with Mexico and Canada. | |||
] | ] |
Revision as of 23:28, 26 December 2007
The North American Union or NAU is a conspiracy theory that refers to a continental union of Canada, Mexico and the United States similar in structure to the European Union, including a common currency called the amero. There are no proposals to create such a union.
Origins
North American Union conspiracy theories are predominant on the Internet, especially among bloggers and other writers. Jerome Corsi's columns on WorldNetDaily and Human Events, as well as his best-selling book The Late Great U.S.A.: The Coming Merger With Mexico and Canada, formed the core of the NAU conspiracy theory.
Features
Conspiracy theories of a North American Union share a number of common elements between them. NASCO and the SPP have both addressed the establishment of a common currency, a "NAFTA Superhighway", and the creation of a North American Union in "Myths vs Facts" pages on their websites.
Amero
Main article: North American currency unionThe amero is the appellation given to what would be the North American Union's counterpart to the euro. It was first proposed in 1999 by Canadian economist Herbert G. Grubel. A senior fellow of the Fraser Institute think-tank, he published a book entitled The Case for the Amero in September 1999, the year that the euro became a virtual currency. Another Canadian think-tank, the conservative C.D. Howe Institute, advocates the creation of a shared currency between Canada and the United States.
Although Mexican President Vicente Fox has expressed support for the idea, when Grubel brought up the idea to American officials, they said they were not interested, citing lack of benefits for the U.S.
On August 31 2007, conspiracy theorist and Internet broadcaster Hal Turner claimed to have arranged for a United States Government minted Amero coin to be smuggled out of the Treasury Department by an employee of that organization. Snopes has assessed both Turner's story and the existence of the amero as "false".
NAFTA Superhighway
Main articles: North American SuperCorridor Coalition and Trans-Texas CorridorThe Trans-Texas Corridor was first proposed by Texas Governor Rick Perry in 2002. It consists of a 1,200 foot wide highway that also carries utilities such as electricity, petroleum and water as well as railway track and fiber-optic cables. 2008 U.S. presidential candidate Ron Paul brought the issue to mainstream prominence during the December 2007 CNN-YouTube GOP debate, where he called it "the NAFTA Superhighway" and framed it within "the ultimate goal" of creating a North American Union.
Officials from the Federal Highway Administration have denied the existence of a NAFTA superhighway. NASCO also refutes the NAFTA superhighway's existence.
Denials
The creation of a North American Union, the amero or a NAFTA superhighway have all been rebuked by government officials from all three North American countries, including U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who stated "There is no secret plan to create a North American union, or a common currency, or to intrude on the sovereignty of any of the partner nations". Officials from the Federal Highway Administration have also denied such a creation. After the leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States were asked about the NAU in a August 2007 press conference in Montebello, Canada, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper stated that he didn't believe that the NAU was a "generally expressed concern", while U.S. President George W. Bush called concerns of a North American Union "political scare tactics" and mentioned how "comical" the "difference between reality and what some people are talking on TV about."
Notable opponents of the North American Union
Members of Congress
- Rep. Spencer Bachus
- Rep. Rob Bishop
- Rep. John Boozman
- Rep. Nancy Boyda
- Rep. Paul Broun
- Rep. Barbara Cubin
- Rep. David Davis
- Rep. Jo Ann Davis
- Rep. Lincoln Davis
- Rep. John Duncan
- Rep. Terry Everett
- Rep. Virginia Foxx
- Rep. Trent Franks
- Rep. Scott Garrett
- Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand
- Rep. John Gingrey
- Rep. Virgil Goode - sponsor of H. Con. Res. 40
- Rep. Samuel Graves
- Rep. Dean Heller
- Rep. Duncan Hunter
- Rep. Darrell Issa
- Rep. Walter Jones
- Rep. Marcy Kaptur
- Rep. Steven LaTourette
- Rep. Frank Lucas
- Rep. Kenny Marchant
- Rep. James Marshall
- Rep. Thaddeus McCotter
- Rep. Gary Miller
- Rep. Jeff Miller
- Rep. Jerry Moran
- Rep. Tim Murphy
- Rep. Sue Myrick
- Rep. Charles Norwood
- Rep. Ronald Paul
- Rep. Ted Poe
- Rep. Ralph Regula
- Rep. James Saxton
- Rep. Heath Shuler
- Rep. Clifford Stearns
- Rep. John Sullivan
- Rep. Thomas Tancredo
- Rep. Patrick Tiberi
- Rep. Zach Wamp
See also
Notes
- ^ Braun, Steven (2007-11-30). "Paul believes in threat of North American superhighway". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Moscoso, Eunice (2007-11-10), "Economists debunk 'Amero' story", Atlanta Journal-Constitution
{{citation}}
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(help) - "Diverted by jelly-beans". The Economist. 2007-08-23. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
{{cite news}}
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(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help); Text "publisher" ignored (help) - ^ Kovach, Gretel (2007-12-10). "Highway to Hell?". Newsweek. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Bennett, Drake (2007-11-25), "The amero conspiracy", International Herald Tribune
{{citation}}
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(help) - Dine, Philip (2007-05-19). "Urban legends of "North American Union" feeds on fears". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
- "SPP Myths vs Facts". Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ "NASCO Congressional - Myths vs Facts December 2007" (PDF). North American SuperCorridor Coalition. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
- Herbert G. Grubel (1999). "The Case for the Amero: The Economics and Politics of a North American Monetary Union" (PDF). The Fraser Institute. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
- "Canada Should Pursue North American Currency Union" (PDF). C. D. Howe Institute. June 22 1999. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - "Amero Uproar". Snopes.com. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
- McKenna, Barrie (2007-06-11). "Security and prosperity?". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
{{cite news}}
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(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=
(help) - Remarks to U.S. and Canadian Chambers of Commerce, United States Department of Commerce, 2007-10-30, retrieved 2007-12-06
- President Bush Participates in Joint Press Availability with Prime Minister Harper of Canada, and President Calderón of Mexico, White House.gov, 2007-08-21, retrieved 2007-12-06
External links
- SPP in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
- H. Con. Res. 40: Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should not engage in the construction of a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Superhighway System or enter into a North American Union with Mexico and Canada.