PHOENIX — Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Western Hemisphere Daniel Watson, Mexico’s General Director of Productive Development of the Ministry of Economy Fernando Díaz Barrero, and Canada’s Associate Assistant Deputy Minister for International Trade Martin Moen, today opened the 4th USMCA SME Dialogue with Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs. They were joined by Commerce Deputy Assistant Secretary Bradley McKinney, International Trade Administration. The event was hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Commercial Service in Arizona and the Arizona District Export Council (AZ DEC).
This year’s USMCA SME Dialogue brought together nearly 250 small business stakeholders across North America to discuss topics, including USMCA small business trade opportunities and the upcoming Joint Review of the USMCA in 2026; SMEs in sports and tourism; SMEs and artificial intelligence and technology; and SME training and talent development. The SME Dialogue provides a unique opportunity for small businesses to connect and promote trade within North America. To further support this effort, the AZ DEC, in partnership with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council and the University of Arizona, hosted a small business matchmaking program connecting North American SMEs with industry leaders.
The first Trump Administration established the SME Dialogue under the USMCA SME Chapter. The SME Dialogue is convened by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Small Business Administration; Global Affairs Canada and Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service; and the Development Productive Unit and the Vice Ministry of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economy of Mexico. The United States hosted the first SME Dialogue in 2022 in San Antonio, Texas, Mexico hosted the second in Mexico City in 2023, and Canada hosted the third in Montreal in 2024.
Mexico and Canada are the top two export destinations for U.S. SME goods. In 2024, U.S. goods and services trade with the USMCA Parties totaled over $1.86 trillion with the majority of traders from small businesses. The most recent data, from 2023, shows over 88,000 U.S. SMEs exported over $74 billion in goods to Canada, and over 50,000 U.S. SMEs exported over $107 billion in goods to Mexico. Investments in each other’s economies totaled $1.36 trillion in 2023, which includes small business supply-chains.
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