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 AT&T, BBVA, Corn Refiners Association, CPKC, General Motors, Mitsui, Rassini, Scotiabank, Taseko Mines, and Vulcan Materials.

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Featured Analysis

Photo:SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Photo:SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

USMCA Review 2026

CSIS Americas experts evaluate key challenges and opportunities ahead of the 2026 joint review of the USMCA free trade agreement.

Listen to audio brief

Brief by Diego Marroquín Bitar, Christopher Hernandez-Roy, and Earl Anthony Wayne — August 18, 2025

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Inside the Mechanics of the 2026 USMCA Review

CSIS Americas Fellow Diego Marroquín Bitar and trade expert Juan Carlos Baker break down the timeline, mechanics, and likely outcomes of the 2026 USMCA review.

Commentary by Diego Marroquín Bitar and Juan Carlos Baker Pineda — October 27, 2025

Audio Briefs

“USMCA Review 2026”: Audio Brief with Diego Marroquín

A short, spoken-word summary from CSIS’s Diego Marroquín on his brief with Christopher Hernandez-Roy and Earl Anthony Wayne, “USMCA Review 2026.” 

Podcast Episode by Diego Marroquín Bitar — August 20, 2025

Audio Briefs

USMCA Review 2026

CSIS Americas experts evaluate key challenges and opportunities ahead of the 2026 joint review of the USMCA free trade agreement.

Brief by Diego Marroquín Bitar, Christopher Hernandez-Roy, and Earl Anthony Wayne — August 18, 2025