| Deepen Economic and Security Cooperation in the Americas
We will continue to advance a Western Hemisphere that is prosperous, secure, democratic, and plays
a greater global role. In the region as a whole, the number of people in the middle class has surpassed
the number of people living in poverty for the first time in history, and the hemisphere is increasingly
important to global energy supplies. These gains, however, are put at risk by weak institutions, high
crime rates, powerful organized crime groups, an illicit drug trade, lingering economic disparity, and
inadequate education and health systems.
To meet these challenges, we are working with Canada and Mexico to enhance our collective economic
competitiveness while advancing prosperity in our hemisphere. With Chile, Peru, Mexico, and Canada,
we are setting new global trade standards as we grow a strong contingent of countries in the Americas
that favor open trading systems to include TPP. We seek to advance our economic partnership with Brazil,
as it works to preserve gains in reducing poverty and deliver the higher standards of public services
expected by the middle class.
We are also championing a strong and effective inter-American human rights and rule of law system.
We are expanding our collaboration across the Americas to support democratic consolidation and
increase public-private partnerships in education, sustainable development, access to electricity, climate
resilience, and countering transnational organized crime.
| 
