ABSTRACT
This chapter explores whether Canada and Mexico have bases other than the prevailing asymmetry on which to establish a relationship, or whether through increasing integration this fundamental historical trend can be broken. The Canadian experience differed markedly from that of Mexico; the most significant difference being the relationship between Canada and Great Britain. The hegemonic regional actor is itself being transformed by the end of the Cold War. The processes of global production, by the evolution of international trading organizations such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and by the commitment of Canada and Mexico to a new found bilateralism. The fact that transnational actors have some relevance in the management of US trade law will be increasingly unacceptable to American domestic actors, both public and private. When both Canada and Mexico gazed outward, they focused on the United States.
