This week, we’re previewing some of the biggest stories of 2026: the future of U.S.-Mexico-Canada relations amid a trade deal review and the World Cup, the race for the next United Nations secretary-general , and key elections across the region.
Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Latin America Brief, and Happy New Year.
This week, we’re previewing some of the biggest stories of 2026: the future of U.S.-Mexico-Canada relations amid a trade deal review and the World Cup, the race for the next United Nations secretary-general, and key elections across the region.
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The Three Amigos Face Two Tests
In recent decades, the politics and economies of Canada, Mexico, and the United States have become so intertwined that leaders’ summits between the countries earned the nickname the Three Amigos.
U.S. President Donald Trump tested the limits of that friendship last year via tariffs, threats to abandon a trilateral trade deal, and harsh immigration restrictions that could undermine the success of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held across the three countries.
This summer, the countries will face a deadline for whether to scrap, keep, or tweak the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal that took effect in 2020—just as the soccer tournament gets underway. The fate of both will affect the all-important North American relationship.
USMCA was negotiated during Trump’s first term, repla
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