This report provides a short overview of Canada's political scene, its economic conditions, and its recent security and foreign policy, focusing particularly on issues that may be relevant to U.S. policymakers. This brief country survey is followed by several summaries of current bilateral issues in the political, trade, and environmental arenas.

This Website documented the White House Symposium on Advancing Global Literacy that held in New York City, New York, on September 22, 2008. The site also included the contents of the six UNESCO Regional Conferences in Support of Global Literacy: -Literacy Challenges in the Arab Region (Doha, Qatar – March 12 – 14, 2007) -Literacy Challenges in East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific (Beijing, China – July 31 - August 1, 2007) -Renewing Literacy to Face African and International Challenges (Bamako, Mali – September 10 - 12, 2007) -Literacy Challenges in the South, Southwest and Central Asia (New Delhi, India – November 29 – 30, 2007) -Addressing Literacy Challenges in Europe with a Sub-Regional Focus (Baku, Azerbaijan – May 14 – 16, 2008) -Regional Literacy Conference in Latin America and the Caribbean (Mexico City, Mexico – September 10 – 13, 2008)

The U.S. Department of Education, in partnership with the Conference Board of Mathematical Sciences, hosted the first National Math Panel Forum on October 6-7, 2008. This page documents the Forum activities, which brought together various organizations and other interested parties.

This report discusses the trade in agricultural products, which is one of the difficult issues negotiators face in concluding free trade agreements (FTAs). The report also deals with food safety and animal/plant health matters.

This report addresses the following issues central to the debate over European security and the future of the broader transatlantic relationship that may be of interest in the second session of the 110th Congress: the specific security missions of NATO and the European Union and the appropriate relationship between the two organizations; the types of military forces that are necessary for NATO's role in collective defense and for the EU's role in crisis management; the appropriateness and compatibility of NATO and EU's decision-making structures and procedures to ensure that there is an adequate and timely response to emerging threats; and the proper balance between political and military tools for defending Europe and the United States from terrorism and weapons proliferation.

This publication is an overview of global and regional environmental issues and policy decisions actions during 2008.

This report provides background information on the history of Canadian waste imports, reviews congressional developments, and discusses issues raised by the voluntary agreement and legislation.

This report discusses the international beef market and U.S. efforts to regain foreign markets that banned U.S. beef when a Canadian-born cow in Washington state tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in December 2003.