Leaders of the United States, Mexico and Canada are gathering today to present a united front to try to limit the spread of the H1N1 swine flu, but there is less unity on simmering trade issues.
President Barack Obama, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper enjoyed folk dancing and a mariachi band late last night and now are getting down to business at a North American summit in Guadalajara, Mexico.
They hold talks with all three feeling the heat from an economic downturn.
The leaders, sometimes referred to as "the three amigos," are expected to issue a joint communique stressing their shared commitment to keep a predicted resurgence in the H1N1 virus this autumn as limited as possible.
A senior Obama administration official said the goal was to ensure that the people of the three countries are fully informed about steps to mitigate the spread of the virus, which is believed to have originated in Mexico last spring.
Mr Obama held 45 minutes of talks with Mr Calderon before they were joined by Harper for a dinner at the sprawling Cabanas Cultural Center. Crowds lined Mr Obama's motorcade route.
Mr Calderon wasted little time in raising what Mexico considers a pressing trade issue - a cross-border trucking dispute.
Mexican trucks are supposed to be allowed to cross into the United States under the North American Free Trade Agreement, but US trucking companies say Mexican trucks are not safe.
Mexico imposed retaliatory tariffs of $2.4 billion in U.S. goods in March after Obama signed a bill cancelling a programme allowing Mexican trucks to operate beyond the US border.
Reuters