Luis F. Alvarez León

Digital trade and the remaking of the North American regional economy

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was a cornerstone of the 1990s liberal hegemony established with the rise of multilateral trade agreements. On July 1st 2020, NAFTA was replaced by a new trade deal: USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement). This article argues that through the inclusion of digital trade provisions, USMCA signifies a vision of a regional economic space that differs substantively from NAFTA’s. To make this case, the article examines the digital trade provisions in USMCA, contrasts them with the vision of trade advanced by NAFTA, and evaluates how they create conditions that can transform the North American space-economy.

Keywords: Digital trade; e-commerce; digital economy; international trade; regions; North America

Check other articles from the issue Issue 50 – Summer 2021 or from other issues.

To cite this article

Alvarez León, L. (2021). Digital trade and the remaking of the North American regional economy. Investigaciones Regionales - Journal of Regional Research, 50, 59-69.