Businesses bear significant responsibilities for environmental protection, the promotion and preservation of local culture, and worker training. Within this broader framework, business can be a positive force in each country of the hemisphere while at the same time creating wealth and promoting free trade and its benefits. But there is a common foundation that every government must provide. This common foundation encompasses the functions of public security and defense, justice, foreign policy, public finance, education, public health, and taxation. Encouraged by and supporting the trend away from direct government involvement in the economy, participants agreed that whenever possible, governments should fulfill their roles by regulation, not by production or other means of direct involvement in economic activity.
Foreign assistance is a necessary component of any plan to encourage the growth of free trade.
The goal of this assistance is to strengthen the institutions of justice, finance, and public security. Assistance must also be delivered in a manner that is sensitive to issues of sovereignty and local culture and customs. The best investment that can be made to enhance a country's future and to build the infrastructure and commitment that is needed to expand free trade is to improve the quality of the country's educational system. This would also help to preserve local cultures and traditions within each country and carry them on to the next generation. Corporations, whether based within countries or as part of a greater multinational enterprise, cannot simply strive to maximize profits.