Former Secretary of State George Shultz singled out the growing economic clout of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, and he labeled this North American alliance a force to be reckoned with.
In an op-ed published on Friday in The Wall Street Journal, Shultz noted that the efforts of Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton in the early 1990s, in conjunction with their peers in Canada and in Mexico, have created an economic juggernaut that constitutes around one-fourth of global GDP.
In particular, Schultz noted the importance of the continent’s enhanced energy outlook:
Meanwhile, the energy picture is being transformed by the innovative use of horizontal drilling in the process called fracking. North America is on its way to being a net exporter of energy. The implications for geopolitical developments are vast. North America will have security of supply no matter what happens in the Middle East or elsewhere.
Shultz also singled out the ways energy-related research and development are reshaping our world:
Even more important than fracking are the potentials for new ways of producing energy and ideas for using energy more effectively. The promise of these new developments will emerge from the research and development under way at universities and companies in North America. Much of this research is funded by a combination of government and industry money. When good ideas do emerge, the system means that organizations are on hand that know how to scale and commercialize them. Through this R&D, North America can lead the way to a more environment-friendly outlook for the production and use of energy.
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