Mexico and Canada are moving toward signing a bilateral action plan in the second half of 2026 to strengthen foreign trade, foreign direct investment, and supply chains. The initiative comes amid geopolitical tensions and a review of the USMCA, with strategic implications for nearshoring and regional trade policy.
Bilateral action plan: economic integration and USMCA review
The new framework seeks to facilitate the business climate, increase trade flows, and promote bilateral investment. Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s Secretary of Economy, and his Canadian counterpart, Dominic LeBlanc, confirmed on Monday that the instrument will include aspects related to the upcoming review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a central element of North America’s trade architecture.
The coordination is taking place in parallel with a Canadian trade mission in Mexico City, made up of 240 organizations and 370 business leaders. The goal is to expand exports, diversify markets, and consolidate regional value chains in the face of unilateral tariff measures by major powers.
Why is it strategic for foreign trade?
Deepening Mexico-Canada relations reduces vulnerabilities to external shocks and strengthens the regional negotiating position. It also opens up opportunities in sectors such as energy, advanced manufacturing, electromobility, and critical minerals, which are key to production relocation and nearshoring.
Davos 2026: Mark Carney’s geopolitical message
On January 20, 2026, during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney argued that middle powers must act in a coordinated manner in the face of rivalry between large economic blocs.
Carney warned that, in an environment of strategic competition, intermediate countries face a dilemma: compete for individual concessions or articulate a third way with greater systemic impact. The message reinforces the logic of the Mexico-Canada plan as a coordinated response in trade policy.
CPTPP and convergence with the European Union
According to international reports, Canada is promoting talks between the European Union and the members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to explore one of the largest global economic alliances.
The CPTPP includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The agreement reduces tariffs, harmonizes investment rules, and strengthens disciplines in digital trade and intellectual property, expanding opportunities for transregional integration.
Implications for companies and investors
For CEOs and foreign trade directors, the scenario raises key questions: How can Mexican exports be positioned in Canada? Which sectors will attract the most foreign direct investment? How can regulatory adjustments resulting from the USMCA be anticipated?
In a context of trade volatility and geoeconomic fragmentation, Mexico-Canada coordination emerges as a risk mitigation mechanism and a platform for international expansion. Strategic convergence could redefine trade flows, attract productive capital, and strengthen the resilience of supply chains in North America.