Antonio Ortiz-Mena, chair of COMCE’s USMCA Technical Committee, highlighted North America’s self-sufficiency in energy, food, and critical minerals.
At a press conference held this Thursday in Mexico City, Ortiz-Mena emphasized that this self-sufficiency is holistic, in contrast to what is happening in other regions of the world.
However, he made no mention of rare earth elements, for which North America is heavily dependent on China.
North America’s Self-Sufficiency
“National security and economic security are increasingly intertwined, and in North America we have what, I dare say, no other region has,” said Ortiz-Mena.
In the 2026 World Competitiveness Ranking, compiled by the Institute for Management Development (IMD), the United States ranked first in credit availability, foreign direct investment inflows, venture capital, investments in artificial intelligence, and the higher education index. It also ranked second in food costs and merchandise exports.
Meanwhile, Mexico ranked third in lowest long-term unemployment, and Canada ranked sixth in food costs.
“We can practically be self-sufficient in energy, self-sufficient in food, and self-sufficient in critical minerals,” said Ortiz-Mena, referring to the three countries.
Regional Indicators
North America covers an area of 27 million 423 million square kilometers. It has a population of 515 million people. And it generates a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 34 trillion 975,000 million pesos.
“We have demographic complementarity. The United States and Canada are aging more rapidly than Mexico. And we have a huge market to consume much of what we produce, to produce within the region much of what we used to import, and to export more. This is very important, because there are other countries and regions that do not have this,” added Ortiz-Mena.
For example, Ortiz-Mena explained that many countries in Asia lack both energy security and food security. The European Union may have food security, but it lacks energy security and population security.
“So, considering the assets we have and the importance of economic security, I believe we possess unique assets, and I believe we will emerge as a winning region from the new international geopolitical and economic reality,” concluded Ortiz-Mena.