As everyone tries to figure out how to use some version of GPT to reply to emails, use Nano Banana to make Google Slides look better, use Grok to turn photos into videos, or answer questionable political questions about X, it’s easy to forget that AI conversations are tied to things like: World power and national security is much more complex.
Behind the memes, prompts, and productivity hacks lurks some serious geopolitical competition. And in that area, the U.S.-Mexico relationship may become one of the most important and underappreciated dynamics shaping trade and economic policy in the coming years.
The core of AI leadership is about more than just algorithms. it’s about Hardware, Energy, Data, People, Resilience, National Security.
Models are not automatically trained in the cloud. It requires large-scale computing power, physical servers, advanced chips, secure supply chains, and uninterrupted infrastructure. In that sense, AI is more like manufacturing than software. And that’s where North America, especially Mexico, comes into play. USMCA’s Digital Trade Framework is becoming more than just a trade tool, it is becoming a national security tool, governing data flows, infrastructure, and trust in ways that directly shape AI competitiveness (Inter-American Dialogue).
As tensions with China continue and export restrictions on advanced chips tighten, the United States faces a simple challenge: How to scale your AI infrastructure quickly, securely, and easily. This is a race where the digital world is moving faster than the physical world. AI leadership ultimately rests with semiconductors, which today are roughly Three-quarters of the world’s chip manufacturing capacity remains concentrated in East AsiaAdvanced production is highly exposed to geopolitical risks (United States-Mexico Foundation). (No need to look back at what happened during COVID-19).
One concrete example: Mexico is currently undergoing major investments in the assembly of AI servers and “superchips.” Nvidia’s next-generation GB200 servers are being assembled in Jalisco through Foxconn, as the growing ecosystem of suppliers moves out of Asia. These facilities are not designed for the Mexican market, but are being built to serve strategic needs in North America. This is nearshoring not as a buzzword, but as an AI supply chain strategy. To understand why the location of infrastructure is so important, it helps to examine where the physical backbone of the digital economy actually resides.
However, hardware is only half the story. AI also runs in many data centers. Mexico is quickly becoming an extension of North America’s digital backbone. Multibillion-dollar investments by Microsoft, AWS, and others are turning cities like Queretaro into important nodes for cloud and AI workloads. Enabled by the USMCA digital trade rules, these data centers will operate within a compatible regulatory and privacy framework, allowing U.S. companies to expand capacity, improve latency, and build redundancy without leaving the region.
CFE opens 269MW combined cycle power plant in Queretaro, strengthening Bajío power grid
This distributed infrastructure is important for resiliency. AI systems cannot afford downtime.
Distributing computing power across the continent enhances continuity in scenarios ranging from cyber-attacks to natural disasters and energy stress. Mexico and Canada are not alternatives to the United States; they are failsafes. And Mexico’s comparative advantage in this ecosystem lies not in replicating advanced chip manufacturing plants, but in strengthening the assembly, test, packaging, and integration layers that make AI hardware scalable and resilient across North America (U.S.-Mexico Foundation). This didn’t happen by chance. The next steps in Mexico’s industrial and digital policy are clearly aligned with this opportunity.
Mexico’s industrial and digital infrastructure plans, including data centers, energy, and advanced manufacturing, are increasingly aligned with North America’s AI and nearshoring strategies.
after that, talent. AI leadership will ultimately depend on humans, not just machines. Mexico produces thousands of engineering and computer science graduates each year, many of whom are already integrated into North America’s corporate and research ecosystems. Mexican universities are beyond graduation 130,000 engineers per year Across degree levels, almost all 3,000 master’s graduates in computer science or related fields — the highest number in Latin America. Talent mobility under the USMCA, combined with common standards and regulatory alignment, accelerates innovation while preserving critical capabilities within the region.
When viewed through this lens, AI becomes a familiar story. As with manufacturing, trade, and energy, the United States doesn’t have to “do it all alone.” We need reliable, integrated regional systems that reduce risk, increase scale, and maintain strategic autonomy. Mexico is not a competitor in the AI race, but an enabler.
(As a footnote, AI as it relates to physical security enforcement, weapons, and potential warfare is a huge topic that I don’t have the ability to write about, but keep that in mind as well.)
AI’s advantage doesn’t depend on who creates the best prompts. it depends on who is in charge full stack: chips, servers, energy, data, human resources, trust. The upcoming 2026 USMCA review is not just a procedural milestone, but a narrow strategic window to ensure North American AI dominance before other models define the rules in their place (Inter-American Dialogue).
In AI, as in trade, the future is not about being cut off from our closest partners.
it’s about Build with them.
Check out parts 1-4 of “Can Mexico Make America Great Again?” here:
Pedro Casas Alatriste He is Executive Vice President and CEO of the Mexican American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham). Previously, she served as director of research and public policy at the U.S.-Mexico Foundation in Washington, DC, and international affairs coordinator at the Coordinating Council for Business (CCE). He also served as a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank.
