Nicholas Ellis Explores United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Challenges and Trade Developments
Foley & Lardner LLP partner Nicholas Ellis shared insights in the Law360 article, “Transportation Regulation To Watch: Midyear Report 2026,” discussing the status of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the implications for cross-border trade.
Ellis noted uncertainty around the future structure of North American trade, explaining, “Given the current administration’s approach to trade, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some significant changes being pushed through on that front. There are a lot of different things on the table.”
“There’s even some possibility that rather than a tri-party agreement with the U.S., Mexico and Canada,” he added. “There could be a push for different types of agreements between different parties, different rules for Canada, different rules for Mexico, or maybe some type of direct agreement between Canada and Mexico without the U.S. involvement.”
Ellis concluded that while USMCA remains in place, “there is a strong probability that the administration will use the nonrenewal, and the resulting annual reviews, and threats of an early exit by the U.S., as leverage in negotiations.”
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