The USMCA Strategic Initiative: Understanding the Future of North American Trade

The USMCA Strategic Initiative is anchored by a series of invitation-only roundtables convening government officials, trade experts, and private sector leaders from all three countries to discuss challenges and opportunities ahead of the mandatory 2026 USMCA review process.

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is the cornerstone of North American trade. It is estimated that $3 million dollars in products move across the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders every minute. With foreign direct investment and capital flows also increasing on a yearly basis, the United States, Mexico, and Canada have the potential to build a secure, dynamic, and globally competitive North America amid a world of burgeoning geopolitical competition. 

In the four years since the agreement entered into force, the USMCA has demonstrated resilience in the face of disagreements in the automotive, energy, and agricultural sectors. Despite these ongoing disputes, the USMCA continues to play a critical role in catalyzing prosperity, integration, and cooperation among the three countries.

CSIS’ USMCA Strategic Initiative’s activities will be anchored by a series of invitation-only roundtables, which will convene government officials, trade experts, private sector leaders, academics and think tank scholars from all three countries to discuss challenges and opportunities ahead of the mandatory 2026 USMCA review process.

Topics discussed as part of this project include:

  • Nearshoring, industrial policy, and supply chain relocation
  • Regional economic security
  • Trade imbalances and the prospect of tariffs
  • Labor and environmental standards
  • North American competitiveness
  • Intellectual property rights 
  • Creating the North American corridor and North America as a strategic concept
  • Digital trade and e-commerce
  • Automotive sector
  • Food and agriculture

This project is made possible through generous support from the Corn Refiners Association, General Motors, Rassini, and Scotiabank.

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All The USMCA Strategic Initiative: Understanding the Future of North American Trade Content

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What Elections Mean for Canada and the Future of North America

CSIS Americas Program Director Ryan C. Berg, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow Christopher Hernandez-Roy, and Henry Ziemer evaluate the significance of Canada's upcoming election and how it will reshape relations with the United States.

Critical Questions by Christopher Hernandez-Roy, Ryan C. Berg, and Henry Ziemer — March 25, 2025

Trudeau Resigns as Trade War Looms

CSIS Americas deputy director and senior fellow Christopher Hernandez-Roy unpacks Prime Minister Trudeau's resignation and its implications for Canada. 

Critical Questions by Christopher Hernandez-Roy — January 7, 2025

Audio Briefs

Trudeau Steps Down: Now What?

An audio version of “Trudeau Steps Down: Now What?,” a new Critical Questions by CSIS’s Christopher Hernandez-Roy. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by Christopher Hernandez-Roy — January 7, 2025

Audio Briefs
35 West

Best of 35 West: Unpacking USMCA

In this episode, originally aired on May 16, 2024, Christopher Hernandez-Roy sits down with Kenneth Smith Ramos, Chief Trade Negotiator for Mexico from 2017 to 2018 and one of the architects of USMCA.

Podcast Episode by Christopher Hernandez-Roy — December 5, 2024

CSIS 35 West