How can the USMCA support a more competitive North America?

North America’s economic partnership has been one of the most successful and deeply integrated in the world. Canada, the United States, and Mexico are bound not only by geography and history, but also by trade and investment flows, seamless cross-border supply chains, shared values, and people-to-people ties.

For nearly a quarter century, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) delivered prosperity for workers and businesses in the three countries. Since then, we have been able to build on the successful foundation laid by NAFTA by bringing into force the Canada-United States-Mexico Free Trade Agreement—known as CUSMA in Canada, USMCA in the United States, and T-MEC in Mexico—on July 1, 2020. This modernized trade pact adapted and improved the rules of trade in light of substantial changes to technology and global trade patterns since the coming into force of the original agreement. It has been instrumental in strengthening our global competitiveness, fostering innovation, and ensuring continued shared prosperity.

The success of workers and businesses in all three countries depends on a predictable framework that leverages our respective strengths and maximizes gains from trade to the benefit of all citizens. Canada believes that this trilateral partnership is a strategic asset for the North American continent.

Today, our three countries face a rapidly evolving global landscape marked by geopolitical and economic uncertainty, technological disruption, and intensifying competition for strategic resources, investments, and talent. In this context, it is more important than ever that we work together to sharpen North America’s competitive edge and prime it for the challenges of the 21st century. The USMCA provides a powerful platform to do just that.

Strengthening supply chain resilience and economic security

The success of the North American economy has been built on the integrated supply chains that span our continent, supporting millions of jobs and contributing to our shared prosperity. The smooth and efficient flow of goods and services across our borders is essential to maintaining the resilience of these integrated supply chains, which, in turn, are critical to economic security. That is especially true for strategic resources and infrastructure—such as energy, critical minerals, and metals—that will become increasingly important as countries around the world seek to deploy new technologies, including robotics, quantum, and artificial intelligence at scale.

In this context, Canada is also concerned by the impacts of non-market policies and practices on our economic security. These policies and practices can hollow out strategic sectors of the North American economy, aggravate imbalances, and distort global markets. This is not good for North American businesses nor for its people.

These dynamics underscore the need for trusted partners to work together and take action to secure the critical sectors and resources necessary to maintain the competitiveness of our own markets. The USMCA provides us with an ideal platform to protect and advance the most competitive and secure economic region in the world.

Enhancing investment climate and innovation with security and fairness in mind

The USMCA has strengthened North America’s position as a unified economic bloc and a leading destination for investment. It provides greater certainty and predictability for investors and fosters cross-border collaboration in cutting-edge sectors by providing the degree of openness they need. This deep integration makes North America highly attractive for foreign direct investment, particularly in high-value sectors such as artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, and biotechnology.

World-leading intellectual property rules and robust regulatory cooperation under the USMCA encourage North American firms to invest in innovation and adopt new technologies and practices. In light of the intense competition to gain an edge in the aforementioned high-value sectors, transparency about foreign direct investment has never been more important—and through the USMCA, we can work together to protect our technological advantage and collective economic security.

The USMCA review: A strategic opportunity

The 2026 USMCA review offers a strategic opportunity to reaffirm the agreement’s success. We believe that the fundamentals of the USMCA are still fit for purpose, and Canada will approach this process constructively, with a focus on ensuring the agreement is responsive to global uncertainty, enhances regional economic security and still reflects the aspirations of our citizens and businesses.

Throughout the review, Canada will be guided by four core principles: openness, reciprocity, stability, and predictability, which are key to the ongoing success of the North American partnership.

We believe the review should reinforce the importance of integrated supply chains and a predictable regulatory environment. It should also explore ways to deepen cooperation in areas that are critical to our long-term competitiveness.

A vision for the future

North American competitiveness is not only about economic growth—it is about economic and national security, resilience, and leadership in addressing global challenges together. By leveraging our strengths, Canada, the United States, and Mexico will continue to attract investment, create well-paid jobs, and lead the industries of the future. To do that effectively, we should provide a high level of openness to each other’s markets and promote stability in our economic relationships.

The USMCA is more than a trade agreement—it is a framework for strategic collaboration and shared prosperity. As we look ahead to the 2026 review and beyond, Canada remains committed to working with its North American partners to build the most competitive, secure, resilient, and prosperous economic region in the world.