Trade agreements play a critical role in economic growth, supply chain resilience, and business success, according to DHL’s DHL Global Connectedness Report. This comes as policymakers from the United States, Mexico, and Canada prepare for the 2026 Joint Review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
“At its core, trade should be viewed as an enabler of growth. When policies prioritize predictability and simplicity, companies can plan, invest, and expand with confidence,” says Andrew Williams, CEO for DHL Express Americas. “For logistics providers and customers alike, the ability to move goods efficiently across borders while reducing friction and complexity is essential to sustaining integrated supply chains across North America.”
Key takeaways:
· Data shows that the world’s level of globalization remains stable and North America continues to play a major role in global trade flows.
- Global trade as a share of economic output increased slightly in 2025 and stands just below its all-time high.
- Trade in physical goods grew faster in 2025 than in any year since 2017, excluding the volatile COVID-19 pandemic period.
- International business investment remains robust, with the United States experiencing a strong rise in inward investment commitments.
- People flows have fully recovered and reached a record high, reinforcing the human connectivity that supports commerce.
- Despite geopolitical tensions, there is no broad shift from globalization to regionalization and no global retreat from cross-border activity. Instead, companies are reconfiguring supply chains to manage risk while maintaining global reach.
- Intra-regional trade in goods and services increased by 37%; jobs supported by USMCA-related trade grew by 18%; and foreign direct investment (FDI) across North America rose by 16%.
- The U.S. Department of Commerce reports that two-way trade in goods and services between the United States and Mexico reached $935 billion in 2024, making Mexico the largest U.S. trading partner. Canada remains equally critical, accounting for 16.8% of all U.S. exports, with total two-way trade reaching $917.4 billion in 2024.
- Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) remain actively engaged in North American trade, with the number of U.S. SME exporters holding broadly steady and the number of U.S. SME imports rising nearly 4% year over year, despite increasing trade complexity such as additional tariffs and evolving de minimis rules.
“The USMCA is one of the world’s most important trade agreements. It enables efficient and reliable supply chains to operate across three of the world’s largest and most complementary economies.” He noted that the U.S., Canada, and Mexico rank as the world’s first, ninth, and thirteenth largest economies, and that close trade ties among them [supported by USMCA as a trilateral agreement] boost the competitiveness of major industries across all three countries,” says Williams.
“Last year’s shifts in trade and tariff policies gave many organizations an opportunity to stress-test their supply chains and identify where greater flexibility and resilience were needed,” adds Mark Kunar, CEO, DHL Supply Chain North America. “While some customers are taking a wait-and-see approach to the USMCA review, their focus is on building supply chains that can quickly adapt to changing conditions and avoid single points of failure.”
