The USMCA, and Beyond the Negotiating Table

Welcome to The View from North America — my quick-take on the macro policy, data, and regional dynamics shaping the cross-border corridor. If you watched the headlines out of Mexico City this past week, you know the gears of North American trade are spinning. Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard and the U.S. Trade Representative’s team are actively…

Tough straits: Americans and the world respond.

The spring of 2026 arrived and brought with it a sobering reality: the US administration’s “doctrine of coercion” is bumping up against both the law and public sentiment. President Trump’s use of blunt-force tariffs and a superior military have reshaped certain theaters. However, the US Supreme Court has limited the executive’s use of IEEPA for…

Geopolitical shift, a North American shield.

2026 blew in at a dizzying pace, headlined by the “tale of two speeches” at Davos which underscored a profound reordering of global alliances and confirmation that we can no longer rely on the predictability of the past.  This February marks 4 full years since Vladimir Putin first invaded Ukraine. While Russia held its ground in 2025, Moscow did not make any…

USMCA, just don’t call it NAFTA.

It’s been thirteen months, nine official rounds of negotiations, countless side meetings, and a brief period where Canada’s participation appeared precarious, but this past Sunday night, the U.S., Mexican, and Canadian negotiators finally announced a new regional trade agreement. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) builds on the old NAFTA and pulls in much of the modernization that had been…

Oh, Canada!

On Monday—just over one year since Mexico, Canada, and the United States officially began the NAFTA renegotiations—President Donald Trump announced the “The United States – Mexico Trade Agreement.” During an impromptu press conference in the Oval Office, Mexican and U.S. officials declared that they had finally moved beyond the thorniest issues including auto content and…

Mexico: Ready to launch, AMLO minus…

It’s been over a month since President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador swept the election to become Mexico’s next leader. With 53 percent of the votes, López Obrador won every Mexican state except Guanajuato, and received a higher percentage of the overall vote than any of the past four presidents. The electoral mandate wasn’t only at the federal…

Mexico: About Sunday Night…

Amid persistent chants of “presidente” from his supporters, Andrés Manuel López Obrador took the stage Sunday night to give his acceptance speech and make history as the country’s first president who was not part of the country’s two major political parties. Amid persistent chants of “presidente” from his supporters, Andrés Manuel López Obrador took the…

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