As a global superpower, the United States risks overlooking the most strategically important asset we have … our own neighborhood.
Our interests are global: We debate Europe’s strategic importance, stage military assets in the Middle East, and monitor freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. But our links to the rest of our own continent are profoundly local, reaching into the heart of communities across the country through trade, security, immigration, and culture.
The next inflection point in the complex but vital relationship between the United States, Canada, and Mexico is on the horizon: The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), one of the most consequential economic and security tools the United States possesses, faces its first mandatory joint review July 1.
Our three nations are linked through the Michigan and Ontario auto industries, Texas and Nuevo Leon semiconductor facilities, Great Plains farmers and agricultural workers, and cross-border energy grids that power our economies. Families straddle borders in Niagara Falls, New York, and Niagara Falls, Ontario, and unite communities in Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
Our partnership with Canada powers NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, while cooperation with Mexico targets transnational criminal gangs that traffic drugs and people, endangering our citizens.
And USMCA is the framework for the world’s largest free trade area, nearly 30% of global GDP, over $1.9 trillion in annual goods and deeply integrated supply chains. The agreement, which replaced NAFTA , has modernized North American trade for labor standards, rules of origin and intellectual property, among other aspects.
The three governments can unanimously choose this year to extend the agreement to 2042. Without a consensus, USMCA will continue with annual reviews until it expires in 2036. This would sow uncertainty in this vital partnership, which is now a pillar of stability, and make it subject to political winds and momentary distractions.
There’s a lot at stake.
North American trade supports millions of American jobs, especially in manufacturing and farming; coalitions, including major U.S. agricultural groups, have underscored the benefits of preserved market access and expanded protections for American producers.
Our relationship with Canada and Mexico, of course, extends well beyond trade. Our countries’ shared approach to security, both integrated bilaterally and across the North American land mass, has allowed us to act together against transnational threats like drug and human trafficking as well as give increased attention to potential threats in the Arctic. Our nations’ border management facilitates vast legitimate commerce while curbing illicit movements, while robust information-sharing helps guard against potential terror attacks, crime gangs and other malevolent players. Recently, U.S. and Mexican cooperation against drug traffickers has focused on high-level, targeted operations against drug cartels, especially fentanyl traffickers. Through shared intelligence and coordinated law enforcement, this intensive and focused joint strategy can continue to yield measurable results that matter to the American people. From Canada to the United States to Mexico, a cohesive approach from north to south acknowledges that bad actors do not respect national borders, and a coordinated approach keeps all of our citizens safer.
Immigration is also central to our relationship. Legal paths for our North American partners to increase employment mobility – from high-tech professionals to agricultural workers – are vital for our joint economies, just as partnership is critical to stem illegal migration. In the recent past, our countries have worked collectively to address root causes of migration, including collaboration with partner countries to increase their own economic opportunity, good governance and security. Continued and increased coordination is in America’s interest, as well as in the interest of our North American neighbors.
Culturally, our three countries are bound by more than policy – we are bound by belief. We prize entrepreneurship, drive and innovation. Our societies reflect the pluralism and democratic governan.
Every day, hundreds of thousands of people cross the U.S.-Mexico or the U.S.-Canada border for work, education, and family, for tourism and sports, for worship and recreation. Our countries benefit from our geographic closeness, but flourish because of our highly interconnected communities.
Predictability matters. In an era of strategic competition, a cohesive North America is a bulwark against instability, and a recognition that our security, our economies and the prosperity of our citizens are intertwined. Sovereignty and partnership aren’t a binary choice: We can bolster the strength of the United States and compete globally while remaining committed to stability in our own neighborhood.
Dialogue, predictability and shared values are the foundations. The three governments should publicly commit to extend USMCA before the review date, coupled with renewed investment to jointly examine efforts to address irregular migration across the region, while streamlining North American legal workforce mobility.
Locking in North American economic certainty while deepening cooperation on security and migration would send a clear signal to business, international markets, other allies and – most importantly – our adversaries: North America is stable, innovative, and strategically aligned … and puts the citizens of North America first.
