A year ago, experts predicted the “Roaring ‘20s,” a decade in which a tamed pandemic would unleash a new era of global growth. As the year comes to a close, our GeoEconomics Center’s staff and senior fellows called out the numbers behind the headlines that best capture the shape of the global economy in 2021—and what to expect in 2022.

The United States, Canada, and Mexico traded more than $2.4 million per minute on average during the first ten months of 2021. The United States’ two neighbors are its top two trading partners this year, followed by China. This trade supports up to 12 million jobs in the United States and millions more in Mexico and Canada. The three countries not only sell to each other, but they also co-produce many products, with high percentages of US content coming back to the United States in finished manufactured products bought from its two neighbors. These facts signal that the economic partnership in North America is very important for economic competition with China, in addition to its direct impact on prosperity in the UnitedStates, Mexico, and Canada. It is, thus, very welcome that the three countries are rolling up their sleeves to improve supply-chain resilience, cross-border infrastructure and processes, workforce development, cybersecurity coordination, and more ...

The United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the donor community have all been warning of the humanitarian catastrophe emerging with the imminent collapse of the Afghan economy. The withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces from the country, which led to the disintegration of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover, has been followed by the cutoff of most external assistance and the freezing of most of Afghanistan’s monetary reserves, thereby elim

The United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the donor community have all been warning of the humanitarian catastrophe emerging with the imminent collapse of the Afghan economy. The withdrawal of US and allied forces from the country, which led to the disintegration of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover, has been followed by the cutoff of most external assistance and the freezing of most of Afghanistan’s monetary reserves, thereby eliminating

Annual Report of the Mexico Institute's Activities including many publications I wrote and meetings that I chaired.

The summit constituted the first of its kind since 2016. Thei leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico set an agenda that could power all three countries to rebound more effectively from the pandemic’s effects and unlock the important potential of better cooperation across the continent.

Biden, Trudeau and López Obrador were positioned to greatly increase collaboration: 1) to support rebuilding from pandemic’s blows to the continent’s deeply integrated value chains and industries; 2) to

The leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico will meet on Nov. 18 for the first North American Leaders Summit (NALS) since 2016. Their agenda can power all three countries to rebound more effectively from the pandemic’s effects and unlock the important potential of better cooperation across the continent.

La próxima reunión de líderes es una oportunidad importante para conectar, comunicar, establecer objetivos y planificar Los líderes de Estados Unidos, Canadá y México se reunirán el 18 de noviembre para una “Cumbre de Líderes de Norteamérica”, o NALS, por sus siglas en inglés. La agenda será grande e importante para esta primera reunión a tres bandas de los socios de Norteamérica desde 2016.

David Jacobson was the U.S. ambassador to Canada from 2009 to 2013 and is vice-chair, BMO Financial Group. Earl Anthony Wayne was the U.S. ambassador to Mexico from 2011 to 2015 and is co-chair of the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute Advisory Board and a Distinguished Diplomat in Residence at American University’s School of International Service.

The leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico will meet Nov. 18 for a North American Leaders’ Summit, or NALS. The agenda will be big and important.

By EARL ANTHONY WAYNE, former U.S. ambassador to Mexico

The most important bilateral relationship in Latin America for the United States is that with Mexico. Mexico is one of America’s top two trade partners and largest export markets. Economic ties support millions of jobs on both sides of the border.

Mexico is an indispensable partner in improving management of migration across the southern border. Cooperation with Mexico is essential to getting a better handle on the deadly flows of drugs i

The most important bilateral relationship in Latin America for the United States is that with Mexico. Mexico is one of America’s top two trade partners and largest export markets. Economic ties support millions of jobs on both sides of the border. Mexico is an indispensable partner in improving management of migration across the southern border. Cooperation with Mexico is essential to getting a better handle on the deadly flows of drugs into the U.S. from Mexico, as well as getting better contro

By EARL ANTHONY WAYNE, former U.S. ambassador to Mexico

In a bid to revive economic relations and make Mexico and the United States more competitive with China, leaders of the two countries have launched a renewed cabinet-level High Level Economic Dialogue (HLED), dormant since 2017. To underscore that initiative, Vice President Kamala Harris headed a U.S. delegation consisting of the secretaries of state, commerce, Homeland Security, and the U.S. Trade Representative in a meeting at the White

I was happy to contribute an article to this collection. Introduction:
In a bid to revive economic relations and make Mexico and the United States
more competitive with China, leaders of the two countries have launched a
renewed Cabinet-level High Level Economic Dialogue (HLED), dormant since
2017. To underscore that initiative, Vice President Kamala Harris headed a
US delegation consisting of the Secretaries of State, Commerce, Homeland
Security, and the US Trade Representative in a meeting at the White House with
Mexico’s foreign and commerce ministers and others on September 9.
If done well and accompanied by Mexican moves to improve the investment
climate, the HLED process can encourage more nearshoring of manufacturing
and other businesses to Mexico, contributing to more resilient supply chains.
Binational working groups are working to identify objectives and actions with
plans to report on progress by early November.
The HLED is aimed at pursuing economic opportunities beyond the trade
issues covered in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which
took effect in 2020. The USMCA calls for new consultative mechanisms on such
issues as trade rules for auto production, respect for labor rights, and barriers to
trade in agricultural products. As a complement to the new dialogue, the HLED
can also help strengthen value chains and effective nearshoring in key sectors,
generating “good” jobs on both sides of the border

By EARL ANTHONY WAYNE, former U.S. ambassador to Mexico

The United States and Mexico took important steps toward better cooperation against cross-border crime and criminal networks on Oct. 8. Meeting in Mexico City, cabinet members from both countries approved a new framework to replace the Merida Initiative, which had served as the umbrella for bilateral public security cooperation since 2008. Now, teams from both countries aim to hammer out an agreed action agenda by year’s end and then forge

The United States and Mexico took an important step toward restoring better cooperation against cross-border crime today with cabinet-level U.S.-Mexico high-level security dialogue and agreement to flesh out a new framework for cooperation in the months ahead.

Earl Anthony Wayne, former U.S. ambassador to Mexico and co-chair of the Mexico Institute Advisory Board at the Wilson Center: “Mexican and U.S. ministers launched the renewed High-Level Economic Dialogue (HLED) with an agenda aimed at boosting supply chains, border management, jobs skills, stakeholder dialogue and helping reduce migration flows. Done well, this process can energize bilateral economic relations with more inclusive processes and concrete improvements. Progress reports from working groups are due in early November. This new HLED recognizes the value of sustained cooperation as demonstrated from 2013-2016 and of learning from the pandemic, which exposed weaknesses in cross-border supply chains. It also reflects agreement to address the root causes of migration. There are four pillars for HLED work. The first pillar, ‘building back together,’ includes steps to support the creation of more resilient supply chains and modernizing the U.S.-Mexico border. Semiconductor supply chains will get a first review, with electric vehicle, medical device and pharmaceutical supply chains as additional candidates. Importantly, work includes renewed attention to improving border crossing processes and infrastructure, as well as better dialogue with private and subfederal government stakeholders. The HLED’s second pillar, ‘promoting sustainable economic and social development in Southern Mexico and Central America,’ will entail the hard work of trying to identify the mix of programs to produce good results. The third pillar, ‘securing tools for future prosperity,’ can foster needed cooperation on cybersecurity and resilient information technology networks. The fourth pillar, ‘investing in our people,’ gives needed attention to workforce development, such as applying best practices for upskilling workers and can usefully target specific groups in need and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).”

By EARL ANTHONY WAYNE, former U.S. ambassador to Mexico

A modified version of this article previously appeared in he U.S. congressional publication The Hill, and is being republished in Pulse News Mexico with express prior permission.

Heed closely what Mexico and the United States agreed on earlier this month. On Thursday, Sept. 9, ministers from both governments held the first meeting of a new High-Level Economic Dialogue (HLED) aimed at pursuing economic opportunities beyond the trade issues

Watch closely what Mexico and the United States agree on this week. On Thursday, Sept. 9, ministers from both governments will hold the first meeting of a new High-Level Economic Dialogue (HLED) aimed at pursuing economic opportunities beyond the trade issues covered in the new North America trade agreement — the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA — that took effect in mid-2020.

In the USMCA framework, the governments already are overseeing bilateral trade and working through trade

The Taliban took Kabul, Afghanistan, far faster than US intelligence officials had anticipated; evacuations out of the country are enveloped in chaos; and on August 26, deadly attacks took place at the Kabul airport. How did we get to this point? Ambassador Earl Anthony Wayne, SIS professor and distinguished diplomat in residence, served as coordinating director for development and economic affairs and deputy ambassador in Kabul from 2009 to 2011. In this Q&A, he describes how the Taliban was ab

By EARL ANTHONY WAYNE, former U.S. deputy ambassador to Afghanistan

Ending a war well requires an accurate assessment of the facts, careful weighing of the potential costs, and plans for achieving the desired outcomes and dealing with unexpected repercussions:

There will be plenty of re-examination of the U.S. decision in April to give a September date certain for pulling out of Afghanistan, but events over the last few months make clear that the final U.S. decisions were based on a poor under

There will be plenty of re-examination of the U.S. decision in April to give a September date certain for pulling out of Afghanistan, but events over the last few months make clear that the final U.S. decisions were based on a poor understanding of the damage already done to Afghan government morale, authority, and capacity by the U.S. negotiations with the Taliban, during the last two years of the Trump administration. The Taliban had used the last two years while negotiating with the United St

By EARL ANTHONY WAYNE, former U.S. deputy ambassador to Afghanistan

Now that the Taliban has regained control of Afghanistan after 20 years of U.S. efforts to halt their brutal reign, it is important to understand who they are and what are their objectives.

Why were the Taliban able to advance so quickly?

The U.S. announcement in April of a full withdrawal by September, combined with little evidence that the United States would provide the robust support that it had promised after its troops

Since the Taliban launched their offensive in May, they have made rapid advances in Afghanistan while US troops have been withdrawing from the country. Ambassador Earl Anthony Wayne, SIS professor and distinguished diplomat in residence, served as coordinating director for development and economic affairs and deputy ambassador in Kabul, Afghanistan, from 2009 to 2011. Ambassador Wayne has written numerous pieces about the US’s presence in Afghanistan and shared with us five important things to k

Staging a major military offensive. Ignoring calls for peace negotiations. Threatening women and executing prisoners and civilians.

Given the Taliban’s behavior lately, U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to rapidly withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan appears increasingly questionable. While it’s not certain that the Afghan resistance to the Taliban will crumble, a catastrophic outcome is still possible. Abandoning a courageous people as they attempt to fight back could leave millions of Afgh

Staging a major military offensive. Ignoring calls for peace negotiations. Threatening women and executing prisoners and civilians.

Given the Taliban’s behavior lately, US President Joe Biden’s decision to rapidly withdraw US forces from Afghanistan appears increasingly questionable. While it’s not certain the Afghan resistance to the Taliban will crumble, a catastrophic outcome is still possible. Abandoning a courageous people as they attempt to fight back could leave millions of Afghans vulne