The USMCA joint review is no longer just a tariff-and-market-access negotiation. The July 23, 2026 U.S.-Mexico round explicitly discussed economic security, regional supply chains, and free-riding by non-parties, and the fourth round is set for Washington in September 2026. The new angle is the economic-security compact framing, not a re-explainer of the agreement.
On July 15, 2026, USTR imposed a 25 percent tariff on imports of Brazil, with specified exemptions under Section 301, following a yearlong investigation into digital trade and electronic payment services, preferential tariffs, anti-corruption enforcement, intellectual property, ethanol market access, and illegal deforestation. USTR’s findings are U.S. determinations, not uncontested facts about Brazil.
On July 23, 2026, USTR imposed Section 301 tariffs on 60 economies for failing to impose and effectively enforce forced-labor import prohibitions, at rates of 10 to 12.5 percent. The action converts a human-rights standard into a tariff architecture whose real test is not the announcement but the implementation, exemption, and litigation record that follows.