Shaping the USMCA Review: Four Pillars for Mexico to Strengthen North American Competitiveness
Geopolitical tensions, the relocation of supply chains, and technological competition among major powers are redefining the rules of the game for global trade and investment. In this context, North America faces the challenge of consolidating itself as a more integrated, resilient, and competitive region vis-à-vis Asia and Europe.
Once the first six-year review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was initiated, the Mexican government has stated that its immediate priorities are to preserve the trilateral instrument and eliminate the tariffs currently affecting Mexican exports. In this context, and despite uncertainty and trade restrictions, Mexico maintains a relatively favorable position. In 2025, imports from the country recorded one of the lowest tariff rates for accessing the U.S. market, at 3.7% — slightly higher than Canada's (2.4%), but nearly two percentage points below the European Union's (5.6%).
Beyond a defensive strategy, Mexico should leverage the USMCA review to transition toward a regional economic security leadership agenda, aimed at strengthening North America's productive, technological, and logistical integration. To this end, it is essential to develop modern borders within North America based on digitalization and interoperability; coordinate trilateral efforts to strengthen the resilience of value chains in strategic sectors such as steel, semiconductors, and critical minerals; and advance the development of a digital and artificial intelligence agenda that lays the groundwork for the region's future competitiveness.
The Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) proposes four pillars for regional competitiveness: fully implementing the USMCA's existing mechanisms, strengthening North American trade integration, developing a technological agenda that enhances regional security, and reinforcing the resilience of value chains.
PILLAR 1: Full Implementation of Existing USMCA Mechanisms on Agriculture, Technical Barriers to Trade, Regulatory Practices, and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
1. Agriculture: Strengthening the Agricultural Trade Committee and the Mexico-United States Advisory Committee on Agriculture
Agriculture has been one of the main success stories in North American integration and, at the same time, one of the most contentious. Chapter 3 of the USMCA, on agriculture, establishes that the Agricultural Trade Committee is the forum for addressing trade problems or barriers, improving market access, and cooperating on matters of mutual interest.
Despite this, only one formal meeting has been recorded, in 2021, stemming from political tensions over issues such as Mexico's restrictions on genetically modified corn.
A significant number of disputes among North American partners involve the agricultural sector. It would therefore be advisable to commit to increasing the frequency of Committee meetings. Beyond the formal Committee, it is important to strengthen the operations of the Mexico-United States Advisory Committee on Agriculture by incorporating the possibility of private sector participation to enrich its deliberations on specific issues.
2. Technical Barriers to Trade: Promoting Mutual Recognition of Certifications
Chapter 11 of the Agreement addresses technical standards and conformity assessment procedures that may affect trade among partners. This chapter promotes cooperation and mutual recognition of certifications.
However, in practice, no broad automatic recognition currently exists, meaning that separate testing and certification are still required in each country.
As a result, companies must frequently undergo separate testing and certification processes in each market. One way to reduce this burden would be to design Mutual Recognition Agreements that reciprocally recognize conformity testing results in specific sectors (such as electronics), similar to the existing agreement for telecommunications equipment between Mexico and the United States.
The Mexican Government could go a step further and promote programs that incentivize the certification of Mexican companies in the United States, while offering an expedited recognition procedure in Mexico to encourage export activity.
3. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures: Resolving Technical Differences at Early Stages
Chapter 9 on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures establishes that the thematic Committee on the matter is the designated forum to identify and discuss, at an early and appropriate stage, draft sanitary or phytosanitary measures or revisions to existing sanitary or phytosanitary measures that may have a significant effect on trade in North America.
A commitment to resuming these meetings at least once a year could resolve technical differences before they escalate into larger conflicts.
PILLAR 2: Strengthening North American Trade Integration Through Process Streamlining, Combating Unfair Competition, and Promoting Labor Mobility
1. Customs Administration and Trade Facilitation: Advancing Toward Full Digitalization, Infrastructure Development, and Process Simplification
Chapter 7 on Customs Administration and Trade Facilitation establishes commitments to reduce transaction costs, streamline procedures, and increase customs transparency. However, its implementation has been uneven.
Differences persist in origin certification, as well as in systems interoperability and mutual recognition of authorized economic operators. Mexico could propose full digitalization and simplification of these processes to achieve more efficient regional trade.
Additionally, the review offers a window to address the lack of border infrastructure through commitments to the development and modernization of pedestrian and cargo crossings.
2. Unfair Competition from Third Countries: Implementing Regional Anti-Dumping Mechanisms in Key Value Chains
One of the central axes of the review is the participation of economies accused of unfair trade practices in value chains that are critical to North American industries, such as steel and aluminum.
A more viable alternative would be to establish anti-dumping coordination schemes for critical sectors agreed upon by the parties, starting with sensitive industries such as steel and aluminum.
Competition with these economies accused of unfair practices must be addressed as a regional challenge — not solely an American one — given the risk of transshipment through third countries to circumvent tariffs.
3. Labor Mobility: Promoting Talent Through Temporary Visas in Sectors with Labor Shortages
Chapter 16, on temporary work visas, retained the list of qualifying professions from the original North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Mexico can propose expanding this list to meet demand in the United States for occupations facing personnel shortages, such as trucking and nursing.
This expansion of labor mobility possibilities must be accompanied by a mechanism for the trilateral alignment of competency certifications, ensuring that specialized talent meets equivalent criteria across all three countries.
PILLAR 3: Developing a Regional Technology Agenda to Coordinate Policies in Strategic Sectors
1. Artificial Intelligence: Developing a Regional Policy to Address Technological Change
The emergence of artificial intelligence is transforming economic structures, and the USMCA review offers an opportunity to incorporate principles that guide its development and governance in North America.
Chapter 19 on digital trade can serve as a foundation for advancing toward rules that guarantee open, secure, and predictable cross-border data flows — essential for the development of artificial intelligence — as well as for promoting common principles on data use, regulatory interoperability, and technological standards.
One measure to achieve these objectives is the creation of a trilateral group on artificial intelligence infrastructure, tasked with promoting cooperation in advanced computing capabilities and developing regional standards and certifications to ensure the security, resilience, and interoperability of data centers across the three countries.
2. Semiconductors: Promoting Research, Capability Development, and Production in North America
Semiconductors have become an indispensable sector in the contest for technological leadership in the 21st century.
The Treaty review could serve to incorporate a regional strategy that strengthens the resilience of the semiconductor supply chain and reduces dependence on Asia for its supply.
Greater integration in this sector would reduce external dependencies and consolidate the region's technological competitiveness.
PILLAR 4: Reinforcing Regional Economic Security with Resilient Value Chains in Key Inputs for the North American Industry
1. Critical Minerals: Ensuring Supply Through Regional Production and Processing
North America's economic security and energy transition are increasingly dependent on secure access to critical minerals.
The USMCA review can serve as a starting point for developing joint protocols to strengthen the resilience of critical mineral value chains for the region.
2. Critical Infrastructure: Strengthening Cybersecurity and Physical Security
Cybersecurity and the physical protection of critical infrastructure are essential components of North America's economic security.
The current juncture provides an opportunity to establish joint protocols, real-time information-sharing mechanisms, and coordinated procedures that increase regional resilience against digital and physical threats.
The first six-year USMCA review represents not only an opportunity to preserve the trilateral instrument and eliminate tariffs affecting Mexico, but also to put forward an ambitious regional competitiveness agenda.