Transportation and logistics is one of the industries that would be impacted by the upcoming review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) , as there could be modifications that affect the supply chain, in addition to a tightening of the rules of origin that suppliers would have to comply with, agreed specialists from CIAL Dun & Bradstreet , a firm specializing in offering technological solutions and data.
“The review of the USMCA will put pressure on logistics chains in terms of traceability, compliance, and supplier validation, focusing on demonstrating where products come from, who participates in the chain, and how reliable their suppliers and third parties are, not just in terms of efficiency and costs, and as a result, it will have an impact on operating times and costs,” explained Diana Chávez, a specialist in fiscal, regulatory, and credit risk at CIAL Dun & Bradstreet.
In the webinar “Business Risk 2026: how to anticipate the review of the USMCA” , Chávez considered that logistics companies, whose operations are closer to North America, will be the most exposed and those that will have the greatest impact from possible changes during the negotiation process of the trilateral trade agreement.
In this scenario, he raised the issue of diversifying suppliers, since if the product or services offered do not comply with regulations, established rules of origin, or documentary traceability, delivery times will be extended , causing friction between customers and suppliers, which would imply higher costs and penalties.
“This whole issue of review, the regulatory issue that is coming with the USMCA, leads us to wonder if the supply chain will really be able to withstand all of this, so it is very important to prevent, to see how you are going to operate, what effects it may have, because if you fail to comply with any rule, there may be a fine and with that, your operation may be stopped,” the specialist explained.
Therefore, it is important that companies start looking to regional suppliers that have the infrastructure and capacity to avoid jeopardizing the company’s operations.
“I think that’s a practice that all procurement or purchasing departments should have in order to always be diversifying, because many times you have one or two suppliers operating your entire business and when these types of regulations come into play or there’s some non-compliance on the other side, substitution becomes very complicated,” emphasized Rodrigo Ramírez, Regional Product Marketing Manager at CIAL Dun & Bradstreet.
He added that another issue to consider in the review of the USMCA is compliance, where suppliers also have to work on the rules of origin, “all the outgoing documentation, because now the regulations not only go to the companies, they also go to their corporate structures, their partners, shareholders and here we are talking about a possible transfer of risk , because if these suppliers have any type of risk, that is precisely what will become the problem for companies when starting a commercial relationship with them.”
In the webinar , both Chávez and Ramírez outlined two possible scenarios resulting from the USMCA review , scheduled for July 1st. The first is that there will be consensus among the three member countries, extending the agreement to 2042. The second is that there will be no consensus, and the trade agreement will be subject to annual review and extended until 2036, “which is when the treaty would end.”
According to analysts, other industries that would be impacted by the review of the USMCA are automotive and auto parts, electronics and advanced manufacturing, critical minerals and metals, agribusiness and food, as well as energy .
Among those sectors, one of the most affected would be the automotive sector, since there is a high level of integration in the supply chains of Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
In April 2026 alone, the export of vehicles manufactured in Mexico totaled 286,317 units, an annual growth of 11.4% ; while in January-April of this year, 1,081,948 cars were exported , an increase of 4.6% compared to the same period in 2025.
The United States was the main destination for light vehicle exports, accounting for 76% , or 821,984 units. Canada followed with 134,245 vehicles , representing 12.4% of exports.
The upcoming review of the USMCA is forcing companies to have much more regionalized supply chains, as they seek to reduce their dependence on Asia and move part of their operations to Mexico or North America, which implies new challenges and building strong, highly visible supply chains .
More than a trade adjustment, Diana Chávez considered that this scenario will accelerate the need for more transparent, traceable logistics chains subject to constant monitoring .
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