As tariffs dominate the headlines, trust remains North America’s quiet competitive advantage.

Capital follows trust. That simple idea explains why North America’s greatest competitive advantage has never been simply its size, its resources, or even its combined economic output. It is the confidence that allows long-term capital to move across the borders of the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Over the past several years, I've had the opportunity to evaluate and invest across different asset classes, from venture-backed startups to multifamily real estate. While industries, time horizons, and underwriting models differ, one lesson has remained remarkably consistent: capital crosses borders only when trust does first.

Real estate investment, more than almost any other asset class, makes this truth visible. Buildings do not cross borders. Capital does. And capital only moves where trust exists.

This idea has never been more urgent than it is today. As trade tensions between the United States and Canada escalate into tariffs and retaliatory measures, it would be easy to conclude that the North American project is losing momentum. The data already shows a warning sign: Canadian investors poured $73 billion into American assets between 2019 and early 2025, four times more than any other foreign country, according to JLL. Yet as the trade relationship has soured, those capital flows have begun to slow sharply.

Trade wars are fought over goods at the border. Long-term investment, especially in real estate, is decided somewhere else entirely: in the confidence that a contract will be honored, that property rights will be respected, and that today’s partner will still be tomorrow’s partner.

Real estate investment depends on legal certainty, transparent institutions, and strong property rights. Cross-border investors purchased roughly $58 billion a year in U.S. commercial real estate on average between 2015 and 2024, according to Invesco Real Estate using MSCI Real Capital Analytics data.

Mexico tells a complementary story: the United States remains Mexico’s largest source of foreign direct investment, contributing nearly $15.9 billion, or 38.8 percent of total FDI inflows in 2025, reinforcing how deeply the three economies are already intertwined under USMCA.

Investors do not invest in buildings alone. They invest in people, in operators, and in governance. A well-located asset with a mediocre operator underperforms a modest asset run by a trustworthy, competent team. This is why due diligence in cross-border real estate is as much about character and track record as it is about cap rates and comparables.

Across both venture and real estate, investors rarely lose confidence because a spreadsheet changes. They lose it when incentives become misaligned, governance weakens, or communication breaks down.

Cross-border investment strengthens regional integration beyond trade. Tariffs and trade disputes dominate the news cycle, but real estate partnerships and long-horizon capital commitments build a quieter, deeper form of alignment. A Mexican investor with a stake in a Texas multifamily project, or a Canadian fund financing housing in Arizona, is not undone by a single tariff announcement. That investor is playing a longer game, measured in years of stable returns and relationships that continue regardless of this month’s headlines.

Real estate simply makes this dynamic easier to see because buildings are tangible. But the principle is much broader. The same trust that allows a pension fund to finance an apartment community also allows a venture investor to back a founder in another country or an institution to commit capital to a private equity fund.

Different assets. The same invisible infrastructure.

The next step for North America is reducing friction for responsible private investment through transparency, education, and predictable regulation. Even amid political disagreements at the federal level, the three countries can protect the channels that allow private capital to do the quiet work of integration: clear rules for foreign ownership, accessible information for investors, and predictable permitting and tax treatment. None of this requires political harmony at the top.

The most valuable infrastructure for North America’s future is not always physical. It is the trust that allows entrepreneurs to raise capital, developers to build communities, operators to scale businesses, and investors to commit for the long term.

Governments will continue to negotiate trade agreements, and political cycles will continue to shape the headlines. But those of us who allocate capital have our own responsibility: to build institutions, partnerships, and reputations that make long-term investment possible.

Capital follows trust. It always has.

The question is whether North America will continue creating the conditions that allow trust—and therefore capital—to move freely across its borders.

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Lala Elizondo is Managing Principal and Co-Founder of Tule Capital, an Austin-based real estate investment firm focused on commercial acquisitions across the U.S. She is also an active angel investor across the region and has been a mentor for Techstars, Founder Institute and Endeavor Mexico. A 2026 NCF Fellow, Lala currently serves on the boards of AEM Austin, L500, and Kanat WELA.

Sources

• Bisnow / JLL. “Canada Used To Send The U.S. Half Its Real Estate Money. No More.” May 26, 2026.

• Invesco Real Estate, utilizing MSCI Real Capital Analytics data. “Cross-border Capital Investment in U.S. Commercial Real Estate.” June 2025.

• FreightWaves. “Borderlands Mexico: Canada, Mexico Draw Record Foreign Investment in 2025.” March 1, 2026.

• Government of Canada, Department of Finance. “Canada Announces Targeted Countermeasures and Substantive Support for Workers and Businesses in Response to U.S. Tariffs.” August 25, 2026.