State and Local Officials Newsletter

May 2026

North American Cooperation

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

The 2026 FIFA World Cup’s arrival in North America brings into sharp focus the cooperation and evolving dimensions between the United States, Canada, and Mexico on immigration policy, cross-border security, and regional infrastructure. This State and Local Officials Newsletter highlights resources from CFR.org, ForeignAffairs.com, and ThinkGlobalHealth.org that examine these shifting dynamics and aim to equip officials with the necessary information and context to serve their states and communities across the country. We look forward to your continued participation in the CFR State and Local Officials Initiative and welcome your feedback on how we can better support the work you are doing. Please email us at stateandlocal@cfr.org.  

Best regards,
Irina A. Faskianos
Vice President, National Program and Outreach

What Is the Future of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade?

REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is up for a mandatory joint review this summer. CFR President Michael Froman analyzes the future of trade in a region the Trump administration has declared to be its top strategic priority. 

Read more on CFR.org »

What Drove Down America’s Fentanyl Deaths?

In June 2023, the number of American deaths reported from synthetic opioids began to decline from the previous 12 months. China had long been blamed as a source of the drug problem in the United States but may have helped drive it down writes the University of Maryland’s Peter Reuter, Carnegie Mellon University’s Jonathan P. Caulkins, and Stanford University’s Keith Humphreys. They suggest that fentanyl is no longer just a public health crisis but a geopolitical tool.

Read more on ForeignAffairs.com »

Americans Actually Support U.S. Global Leadership

CFR convened nine bipartisan conversations with 332 Americans representing 29 states to better understand how Americans conceive their country’s global role. CFR’s Rebecca Lissner breaks down the results and finds the debate may be less polarized than Washington assumes.

Read more on CFR.org »

    REUTERS/Libby O’Neill

State and Local Officials Webinar: Sports Diplomacy and North American Cooperation

As North America prepares to host the FIFA World Cup, CFR’s Edward Alden and NYU’s Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff discuss the history and strategic role of sports diplomacy and the dynamics of regional cooperation. Watch on CFR.org »

How to Fight an Economic War

CFR’s Edward Fishman writes that an arms race and a scramble for financial security are remaking the geoeconomics of today. He contends that in order to wage an economic war in today’s fragmented worlds, the United States must overhaul the approach it built over the last two decades for a unipolar world. Read more on ForeignAffairs.com »

Is your city hosting FIFA World Cup matches, base camps, or fan zones?

CFR can provide personalized briefings for state and local officials and their staff in advance of the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup. Email stateandlocal@cfr.org to request a dedicated session with a CFR expert for relevant context on the foreign policy, security, and cultural dynamics at play among the diverse delegations you are hosting.

The U.S. Is Co-Hosting the FIFA World Cup. But Much of the World Can’t Attend.

CFR’s Mariel Ferragamo examines the issues surrounding the 2026 men’s World Cup as tensions simmer between several participating countries and the United States. A record forty-eight countries are taking the field across three countries, but off the pitch, questions still remain surrounding travel restrictions, safety, and regional cooperation.

Read more on CFR.org »

REUTERS/Henry Romero

Russell C. Leffingwell Lecture With Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada