Wood lists the six top issues to review in US-Mexico-Canada trade

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Duncan Wood is CEO of Hurst International Consulting and an independent analyst focused on North American trade, energy, and supply chain security.

He was briefly head of the Pacific Council on International Policy and before that director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.

Wood has penned a new op-ed about U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade for The Hill newspaper. It is titled: “6 top issues to review in US-Mexico-Canada trade.” 

In the column, Wood says the second Trump administration has “come out swinging” on trade. He says new tariffs — some targeted, others startlingly wide-ranging and broad — “have reignited uncertainty across global supply chains and forced America’s economic allies to find ways of placating the White House.”

For Canada and Mexico, Wood says, “this has been a stark reminder of how easily trust can erode, even in the most integrated trade relationship in the world.”

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which President Trump created in his first term in office, has its first formal review in 2026. Wood says this provides an opportunity to “not only overcome this uncertainty but also to build for a stronger shared future.”

Wood lists the six top issues for review in US-Mexico-Canada trade as:

A foreign investment committee for North America

Rules of Origin Are Only as Good as Our Tools to Enforce Them

A Reinvigorated Approach to Energy and Critical Minerals 

Dispute Resolution Must Be Enhanced

Labor Standards and the Gap Between Words and Action

Don’t Ignore Digital Trade

“The early days of the Trump administration’s second term have strained North American cooperation, but the review is a chance to reverse that trajectory. It can help the U.S., Canada and Mexico recommit to a shared vision of prosperity, one grounded in transparency, innovation, and resilience,” Wood writes.

“In 2020, the U.S-Canada-Mexico Agreement was sold as a modernization of NAFTA. In 2026, its review must become a modernization of our shared commitment to lead.”

“Let’s not settle for maintenance. Let’s build something stronger,” he concludes.

Editor’s Note: Click here to read Duncan Wood’s new column in The Hill.

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