Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney have signed a strategic partnership agreement to deepen economic, security and environmental cooperation, while agreeing to try and make their three-way free-trade deal with US "fairer" in the face of tariff pressure from President Donald Trump.
The pact, signed in Mexico City on Thursday, was announced ahead of a formal review of the trilateral US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) scheduled for 2026.
During a joint press conference, both leaders said the new bilateral agreement is intended to complement and strengthen the USMCA, not undermine it, amid concerns over recent US tariffs and the looming USMCA review.
They also outlined the agreement’s key points.
"We will scale up our engagement in foreign affairs, in trade and investment, in agriculture and natural resources, in energy, finance, health, the environment and public safety and security," said Carney.
The prime minister said the agreement is built on four pillars: prosperity, security, inclusivity and sustainability.
Carney also noted that the agreement will spur investment in strategic infrastructure such as ports and railways to strengthen supply chains across the North American region and "unlock new opportunities" for trade and investment, from energy to agriculture to aerospace.
'Agreed on a very important action plan'
Though not directly involved in the meeting, the US was symbolically present during the press conference, as Carney made it clear that deeper collaboration between Mexico and Canada would ultimately benefit the US economy.
"We will collaborate bilaterally with the US, pursuing economic integration with the goal of making North America the most competitive region in the world," he added.
For Sheinbaum, the agreement is as significant for bilateral relations as it is for trade and economic integration among the North American partners.
"We agreed on a very important action plan that we hope will soon yield results — both in terms of our bilateral relationship and in the broader context of our shared role in North America under the trade agreement," she said.
Signed in 2018, the USMCA trade agreement was first brokered during US President Trump’s first term.
The deal entered into effect in July 2020 and is scheduled for its first review six years later, marking July 1, 2026 as the first time the trilateral accord will be formally revisited, during a period in which Trump has threatened a “drastic renegotiation” of the pact.
Carney also announced that Canadian Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald will visit Mexico next month, as agriculture and environmental policy are set to be the next areas of focus for the two partners.
