News Updates

NORTH AMERICA:

Dairy Industry Pushes for USMCA Enforcement, Not Escalation

‘CANADA MUST FOLLOW THROUGH ON THE DAIRY ACCESS COMMITMENTS’

‘CANADA IS NOT UPHOLDING THE AGREEMENT THAT THEY SET FORTH TO DO SO IN THE USMCA SIGNING’
Southern Farm Network, Sep 1, 2026 – Dairy leaders want Canada held accountable under USMCA while preserving the trade agreement. Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative Chief Policy Officer Karen Gefvert says the industry is actively engaged with federal officials….
Gefvert says the industry’s message has remained consistent since the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement took effect: Canada must follow through on the dairy access commitments it agreed to under the trade deal.
“Our message has been this entire time: hey, Canada is not upholding the agreement that they set forth to do so in the USMCA signing. So, they’ve got some dairy commitments that they have not fulfilled. And that does include this TRQ administration. They also agreed to some transparency.
And then, the way in which they have pricing set up in Canada. So those components have been disingenuous perhaps might be the way in which to phrase that. So the messaging to our administration has been: hey, Canada’s got to come and uphold the agreement that they signed and we need to do that. We do support the enforcement of the agreement.”

How Trump’s lumber tariffs made a bad situation worse in B.C.

U.S. LUMBER INDUSTRY’S OBJECTION TO CANADIAN SUBSIDIES BEGAN IN 1982

CBC (Canadian Broadcasting), Aug 28, 2026 – The U.S. has long argued that the low stumpage fees charged by Canadian governments amount to a subsidy that allows Canadian lumber to be sold in the U.S. at below-market value.
But Zoltan van Heyningen, the executive director of the U.S. Lumber Coalition, says these differences account for “one tiny, small aspect of Canadian subsidies,” arguing the Canadian government has spent billions in taxpayer dollars in the last year supporting the industry.
In his view, the problem is one of chronic excess supply on the Canadian side, which ends up in the U.S. and drives down prices, harming American producers.
The American lumber industry first made this argument to the U.S. Commerce Department in 1982, out of concern over Canada’s growing share of the U.S. market. The request was for tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber to level the playing field.

SOUTH AMERICA, MERCOSUR:

Argentina Gives Mercosur an Ultimatum It Can’t Ignore

MILEI WANTS FREE FROM BLOC’S COMMON EXTERNAL TARIFF, REGIONAL PROTECTIONISM

Cato Institute, Aug 28, 2026 – In Argentina, talk of leaving or at least bypassing Mercosur—the South American trade bloc that also includes Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay—is ramping up as the Javier Milei administration seeks to open the country’s economy….
When Milei became president, Argentina ranked among the five most closed economies in the world. Since then, he has made progress towards free trade….
But Mercosur’s common external tariff, which averages at 11.5 percent, means Argentina cannot unilaterally cut its own tariffs beyond the limit set by that trade accord. In practice, this represents about ten times the rates of Chile and Peru.

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF DALLAS:

USMCA trade outlook matters for the U.S., not just for Canada and Mexico

FORTRESS NORTH AMERICA SCENARIO: COORDINATED EXTERNAL TARIFFS

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Aug 26, 2026 – The USMCA already covers many non-tariff areas, but a full customs union would require coordination on external tariffs and third-country agreements, as well as tariff revenue sharing. It is therefore best viewed as a benchmark. A more practical step is targeted tariff coordination (especially vis-à-vis China) that preserves USMCA preferences and may lower pressure to tighten origin rules further….
Under targeted coordination, Canada and Mexico match U.S. January 2026 tariffs against China. Under coordinated tariffs, a so-called Fortress North America scenario, Canada and Mexico match the U.S. January 2026 external tariff schedule against all non-USMCA partners.
These scenarios borrow one customs-union feature, aligned external tariffs. But they don’t include its institutions: no common tariff-setting authority, customs administration or revenue sharing. The narrower goal is to reduce incentives for China or other non-USMCA suppliers to reach the U.S. market indirectly through Mexico or Canada while preserving North American trade preferences under USMCA….
A tariff on a final good may protect domestic producers, but tariffs on imported parts, materials or equipment raise costs. An appliance producer may gain from tariffs on imported appliances but lose if tariffs raise the cost of motors, steel or electronics.

Doug Ford reflects on heated exchanges with Donald Trump

‘LET’S BUILD FORTRESS NORTH AMERICA’

Toronto Sun, Aug 25, 2026 A significantly calmer Ontario Premier Doug Ford made a handful of appearances on American television on Tuesday….
“I think it’s a lot of rhetoric because we’re the No. 1 customer to 17 states, and No. 2 to 12 others,” Ford told [CNN’s Wolf Blitzer]. “… I feel that we need to get back to the table and build the, as I always say, Fortress North America….”
“We’re stronger together, I always say,” Ford told [Fox Business]. “Let’s build Fortress North America….”

SE ASIA – ASEAN:

Digital IDs can connect ASEAN

ALMOST ALL ASEAN NATIONS DEVELOPING DIGITAL IDENTITY WALLET

‘ASEAN ID’ NOT NEEDED; DIGITAL ALIGNMENT OF NATIONAL IDs CAN CONNECT THEM

World Bank Blogs, Aug 25, 2026 – The next step is to make these national systems work together. ASEAN does not need a single regional system or wallet. Rules on trusted issuers, wallet communication, privacy, security, and testing aligned with global standards can connect them, much as linked payment systems support cross-border payments. Europe shows what is possible: by the end of 2026, every EU Member State is expected to offer a wallet built to common specifications. Global alignment would also help ASEAN credentials work beyond the region and trusted foreign credentials within it.

‘FORTRESS NORTH AMERICA’:

Ontario premier gaslights Americans: Shows contempt for Trump national tariffs; pushes North American tariffs

FORD: CANADA SHOULD BE READY TO CUT ELECTRICITY, CRITICAL MINERALS AS TRADE WOES WORSEN

Newsweek, Aug 24, 2026 – Canada’s Ontario Premier Doug Ford said former U.S. President Ronald Reagan would be “throwing up” over the trade policies of President Donald Trump. It is just the latest in a series of comments from Ford speaking out against Trump and his policies.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Ford said Trump keeps a portrait of Reagan—a consistently popular Republican president who championed free trade—near his desk, but that the late leader would be “disgusted with President Trump.”

Referring to Trump’s tariffs and interventionist measures, which he says are at odds with Reagan’s economic policies, Ford added, “[Reagan would] be throwing up on him from the picture if he knew what was going on.”

What is the ‘Fortress North America’ idea Doug Ford is pitching?

THE WALLS OF THE FORTRESS WOULD BE TARIFFS

The Whig Standard (Canada), June 9, 2026 – “We’re down here promoting something called ‘Fortress North America,’” Ford told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer during a live interview Tuesday.
“We have two of the greatest countries in the entire world, and when we work together there is nothing that can stop us. China can’t stop us.”
The basic idea is that the U.S., Canada and Mexico would eliminate tariffs and maintain free trade between them while aligning regulations to allow certain industries to become more integrated. The walls of the fortress would be tariffs and other policies designed to protect the integrated North American economy from outside competition, particularly from China.
Premier Ford brought a 30-page brochure on the trip. Among its proposals: ….
— Crack down on efforts to circumvent tariffs and on “the practice of naked short-selling and foreign investments tactics” that hurt the mining industry;
— Screen investments from China or “other non-market economies” in mining or the defense industries;
— Forbid attempts by the Chinese government or its state-owned enterprises from gaining a foothold in North America….

ARAB GULF, MIDDLE EAST:

Can Mecca Pact deepen its role in Gulf’s security structure?

Daily Sabah (Türkiye), Aug 21, 2026 – The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan, is formally framed as an open-architecture agreement. However, that openness has yet to translate into the integration of a regional country into its institutional framework. The real question worth asking is whether it can expand within the Gulf itself, and whether it will do so alongside the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) or in tension with it….

On paper, the GCC has a defense component, but in practice, it has struggled to translate that into deployable, credible collective action, particularly in hard security and defense coordination rather than economic or diplomatic matters. As part of a Gulf security framework, the Mecca Pact, built around a single anchor state in the Gulf and two capable external partners, offers something more concrete on that specific dimension, even if its own obligations remain deliberately loose.
Whether the pact and the GCC end up running hand in hand, or pulling Gulf states in different directions, depends on whether the GCC itself modernizes its own security cooperation in response.

Trump praises Mecca defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan

‘IT SHOWS HOW THE MIDDLE EAST IS COMING TOGETHER’

Türkiye Today, Aug 17, 2026 – U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday praised a newly signed defense agreement between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan, calling it a “BIG, BOLD, AND IMPORTANT FIRST STEP” toward greater self-reliance in the Middle East.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that he was “very happy to see” the three countries “recently, and finally” sign what is known as the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement.
“It shows how the Middle East is coming together, and how Countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way,” he wrote….

EUROPEAN UNION:

Quo Vadis, Europe: A New Dark Age or the Next Renaissance?

European Conservative, Aug 11, 2026 – European leaders are appalled that Washington finally said out loud what their citizens whisper to one another at kitchen tables, pubs, and churches: “We are being replaced.” Replaced not by race or ethnicity. Such superficial markers don’t determine the fate of nations. Replaced by cultures shaped by political corruption, violence, misogyny, and contempt for human rights….
Uncounted multitudes have fled the misery of their homelands only to bring with them the very attitudes and habits that produced the cesspools they are leaving behind. It’s not that European elites embrace the uninvited illegal aliens’ values. They just despise their own. A civilization ashamed of itself cannot ask others to assimilate into anything meaningful. And so they don’t….
It’s easy to blame the EU governments. The deeper problem is the voters who supinely accept the tyranny of their bureaucracies, outsourcing everything that shapes their present and future to people who neither love their nations nor understand them.

‘REGIONAL SOVEREIGNTY’:

Gulf Cooperation Council countries intensify coordination after series of attacks

‘In accordance with the UN Charter’s Article 51,’ bloc notifies UN of ‘sovereign right to collective self-defense’

News on AIR (India), March 12, 2026 – Gulf Cooperation Council countries are intensifying coordination after a series of attacks that have pushed the region into one of its most serious security crises in decades. Officials say the bloc has shifted from diplomatic mediation to a posture of active defence following the escalation that began on the twenty-eighth of February.
During the emergency consultations, GCC leaders reaffirmed the principle of “indivisible security”, stating that the security of all member states is interconnected and that any attack on one member is considered an attack on all. The council has also activated provisions of its joint defence agreement, increasing cooperation in air defence coordination, intelligence sharing and maritime monitoring, particularly in areas around the Strait of Hormuz.
This mobilisation specifically invokes Article 2 of the GCC Joint Defense Agreement, which mandates a collective military response to external aggression against any member state. Furthermore, in accordance with the UN Charter’s Article 51, the Council has formally notified the Security Council of its sovereign right to collective self-defense following the confirmed interception of thousands of hostile drones and missiles since February 28.

MIDDLE EAST, GCC:

Which other countries could join the Turkiye-Saudi-Pakistan defence pact?

FMR QATAR PM: HOPE THAT ALL GCC MEMBER NATIONS JOIN

Al Jazeera, Aug 9, 2026 – Turkiye wants to expand its newly formed defence pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to include more countries, says Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, citing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan….
“Egypt may join only if the language protects its aid relationship with Washington, doesn’t undermine existing alliances and peace treaties, and maintains its own freedom to decide when and where it fights,” Karim Elgendy, associate fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, told Al Jazeera….
In a post on X, former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani expressed hope that all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) would “take the initiative to join” the pact. In addition to Saudi Arabia, the GCC includes Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Among the Gulf states, Elgendy said, “the names to watch first are Qatar and Kuwait.”

EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION & IRAN:

Iran Eyes Deeper EAEU Ties as Regional Integration Gains Momentum

Proposes EAEU central banks collaborate on developing CBDCs

SUPPORTS COMMON MARKET FOR OIL, PETROLEUM PRODUCTS WITHIN UNION
Financial Tribune, Aug 7, 2026 – Iran is positioning itself as a strategic partner within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), signaling a clear shift toward long-term economic integration as a buffer against external pressures and a pathway to regional stability.
Speaking at the second meeting of the EAEU’s Intergovernmental Council in Kyrgyzstan this week, Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade, Seyyed Mohammad Atabak, underscored Tehran’s commitment to deepening trade and investment ties with the union’s five member states….
Beyond trade in goods, Atabak raised a more ambitious goal: building a parallel financial architecture. He proposed that EAEU central banks collaborate on developing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and explore a new interbank messaging system to replace SWIFT.
“By relying on cultural and historical commonalities and geographical proximity, we can portray a successful model of regional integration,” he said, adding that Iran supports the creation of a common market for oil and petroleum products within the union.

GLOBAL TIMES (CHINA) OPINION:

‘Forced labor’ tariffs should not be tolerated regardless of rate

Global Times (China), August 8, 2026 – What deserves attention is that the US import bans based on “forced labor” differ significantly from international consensus, as they are imposed according to Washington’s own evaluation standards and rules, effectively exporting its own values and regulatory approach. For example, Article 2.33 of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade between the US and Indonesia specifically addresses enforcement of labor law. It requires Indonesia to strengthen training for officials in identifying products associated with forced labor and to enable them to conduct inspections of related goods in various scenarios, including those involving forced labor. Indonesia’s forced alignment with US enforcement concepts and assessment standards will inevitably alter the economic costs and expectations of its international trade participants.
The position of this writer is nonsense. It would never allow any penalty against “dealing in stolen merchandise,” if left to “consensus” with those who steal production from slaves.
It is not “consensus” that determines destructive, abusive practices, but one’s own God-given “conscience” and common-sense discernment, something that amoral “free traders” reject and suppress.
It was conscience that influenced Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s 1964 obscenity opinion, “I know it when I see it.” The same standard should apply to products made with forced labor.

NORTH AMERICA & THE NEW MERCANTILISM:

Kevin O’Leary Says ‘Fear of China, Not Politics’ Will Bring North America Together as AI, Energy and Critical Minerals Competition Intensifies

Benzinga, July 27, 2026 – Investor Kevin O’Leary said growing competition with China in artificial intelligence (AI), energy and critical infrastructure could push the U.S., Canada and Mexico toward deeper economic cooperation despite political differences….
He argued that the accelerating race for AI technology, energy resources and critical minerals would make cooperation between the three countries increasingly necessary.
He highlighted the different strengths of each country, saying Canada provides energy resources and critical minerals, the U.S. contributes technological innovation and economic scale and Mexico remains a key part of North America’s manufacturing and economic network.

I believe fear of China, not politics, will ultimately bring North America back together. As the race for AI, energy, and critical infrastructure accelerates, economic reality will outweigh political disagreements because the United States, Canada, and Mexico are stronger when… pic.twitter.com/Dp8PiJs1x8

— Kevin O'Leary aka Mr. Wonderful (@kevinolearytv) July 26, 2026

SE ASIA:

AI seen fueling ASEAN+3 resilience

China Daily, July 27, 2026 – The robust demand for semiconductors and products related to artificial intelligence will remain the key growth driver for the East Asian and Southeast Asian regions, keeping their economies resilient even amid the economic fallout from an escalating Middle East conflict, a regional think tank said.
The regional GDP growth of the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and three East Asian economies [China, Japan, South Korea] is expected to grow by 4.1 percent in 2026….
AI-related demand has been central to this year’s economic performance of the ASEAN+3 and is one of the key factors that will shape the outlook ahead. This is because the region sits at the center of AI production globally and accounts for about half of global AI-related trade.

NORTH AMERICA & CUSTOMS UNION:

U.S. presses Mexico to match tariffs on Chinese steel, aluminum

Seeking Alpha, July 26, 2026 – The United States is urging Mexico to adopt tariffs similar to Washington’s Section 232 duties on steel and aluminum imports from outside North America, Bloomberg News reported Sunday….
The discussions are part of ongoing negotiations over the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), after Washington opted to pursue rolling talks rather than renew the pact in its current form.
The U.S. wants Mexico to preserve preferential treatment for steel produced within North America while applying a common external tariff on imports from countries outside the region, particularly China.

SE ASIA – ‘REGION-BUILDING’:

$2.5 Billion US Investment for ASEAN is ‘Not Charity’, Rubio Says

TO ADVANCE BLOC’S ‘AVIATION INFRASTRUCTURE, ENERGY SECURITY, AND SECURE SUPPLY CHAINS’

Jakarta Globe, July 22, 2026 – “We are investing because the development of ASEAN is also in the interest of the US. This is not charity. This is not something we’re doing because we are nice people, although I believe we are nice people.”
Rubio did not give the specifics on the $2.5 billion investments. However, he did say that the US government’s investment arm, the International Development Finance Corporation, had greenlit $1.5 billion to advance the region’s “aviation infrastructure, energy security, and secure supply chains”.

NORTH AMERICA – USMCA:

US trade chief Greer aiming for ‘interim arrangements’ on USMCA by year end

MEX AMBASSADOR EXPECTS USMCA DEAL BY END OF YEAR

July 23 (Reuters) – U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Wednesday said he hopes to strike some interim trade agreements ‌with Mexico and Canada this year while tackling thornier changes to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement such as stricter rules of origin in 2027.
“We are moving with all due speed on this,” Greer told the Senate Finance Committee in a hearing reviewing President Donald Trump’s trade agenda. Greer will leave Washington ​on Wednesday for Mexico City for USMCA talks with officials there, including Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum….
Mexico’s new ambassador to the U.S., Roberto ​Lazzeri, told Reuters on Friday that Mexico was expecting to reach a new deal on USMCA by the end of the year.

GCC, EU Condemn Iran Attacks, Defend Hormuz Freedom of Navigation

Qatar News Agency, July 19, 2026 – Brussels, July 19 (QNA) – The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the European Union have condemned the Iranian attacks on some countries of the region and vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, stressing the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation in this international waterway….
Any claims of sovereignty or control over the Strait by any country are unacceptable, the two sides asserted, considering them illegitimate. They further opposed the imposition of any system of clearances, transit tolls, or exchanges of services for international traffic….
The two blocs reemphasized their full solidarity with the countries affected by these attacks, along with sailors from all nationalities who were exposed to danger, confirming that any attack on the security of one of the nations is a source of concern for parties that count on the safety of this critical waterway.

MIDDLE EAST OIL PRODUCTERS STEP UP PLANS TO BYPASS THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ

Associated Press, July 23, 2026 – Before the war in Iran, roughly 15 million barrels of Persian Gulf oil were shipped each day through the Strait of Hormuz. Within a few years, much of that oil could bypass the strait.
As Iran’s chokehold over the strait drags on and oil prices surge, countries across the Gulf are planning to spend billions of dollars to build pipelines enabling them to redirect more supplies to ports on the Red Sea, the Gulf of Oman and the Mediterranean.

AFRICAN UNION:

How AI could unlock Africa’s critical minerals and save miners up to $390 billion a year

Business Insider, July 18, 2026 – Times are changing across Africa, with commercial interest shifting from traditional minerals such as gold and diamonds to rare and critical minerals that are becoming central to artificial intelligence, global energy, technology and defence industries.
Africa possesses around 30% of global critical mineral reserves, but receives just 10% of the world’s mineral exploration budget and often relies on outdated geological surveys.
Artificial intelligence has the potential to help Africa discover significant mineral deposits, reduce mining costs, and shift away from its traditional role as a raw-material exporter.

DEFINING MOMENT FOR MULTILATERALISM

CHINA IMPLEMENTS 100% ZERO-TARIFF POLICY FOR 53 AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Khmer Times, July 17, 2026 – The global trading system is undergoing a profound transformation. Economic growth continues to slow, geopolitical tensions persist and protectionist rhetoric increasingly shapes policy debates….
Against this backdrop, on May 1, China formally implemented a 100% zero-tariff policy for 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations, without quota restrictions or political conditions. This milestone, achieved less than 18 months after China extended full tariff elimination to the 33 least-developed African nations with which it has diplomatic relations in December 2024, makes China the first major economy to unilaterally grant comprehensive zero-tariff treatment to all African diplomatic partners….
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the initiative during the 39th African Union Summit, urging all developed countries and major economies to follow suit. African Union Commission Chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf called China’s proactive openness “particularly crucial” for a continent bearing the brunt of global uncertainty.

NEW REGIONAL ORDER:

Xi Pitches China As Champion Of New Global AI Order

AI CO-OP CENTERS WITH BRICS, ASEAN, LATIN AMERICA, AFRICAN UNION

StratNews Global, July 17, 2026 – China ‘s President Xi Jinping on Friday cast Beijing as the champion of a new global AI order, using Chinese premier tech conference to promote open-source technology and challenge U.S. influence over the rules governing the fast-moving sector….
The speech pitched China’s AI coalition as a rival to the U.S.-led “Pax Silica” international initiative to secure global AI and critical mineral supply chains, though Xi avoided naming Washington….
China will also provide AI training and develop AI cooperation centres with BRICS, ASEAN, Latin American and African Union countries, Xi said, aligning China’s AI diplomacy initiatives with major Global South blocs where China already carries huge influence.

REGIONAL PROTECTIONISM:

Opinion | ‘Fortress North America’ isn’t protection — it’s surrender

‘“ALIGN” IS A EUPHEMISM FOR SUBMISSION’

Toronto Star, July 15, 2026 – But while Canadians have spent more than a year walking the talk on “elbows up” and “Buy Canadian,” some members of Canada’s leadership class have not shown the same resolve.They have embraced a “Fortress North America” model of coexistence with the U.S. and Mexico. It would bind the three members of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement even closer together.This more thoroughly co-ordinated grouping, led by the U.S. as its dominant economy, would then turn its back on the rest of the world.As Canada’s economic integration with the U.S. became even deeper in the Fortress North America model, Canada would be forced to align its foreign policy, including trade, with Washington. “Align” is a euphemism for submission.

ARAB GULF – GCC:

Bypassing Hormuz: India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor could threaten Iran

Jerusalem Post, July 12, 2026 – Iran’s ruling elite is showing growing concern over the rapid progress of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) project, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The IMEC project would provide a stable trade route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, creating an alternative for global trade and energy transmission.

SAUDI ARABIA EXPLORES IMEC ROUTE THROUGH SYRIA, SIDESTEEPING ISRAEL, SOURCES TELL ‘POST’

STRENGTHENING ECONOMIC INTEGRATION ACROSS THE REGION

Jerusalem Post, July 8, 2026 – Saudi Arabia would like a significant change in the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) to sideline Israel from the trade initiative, two people familiar with the matter have told The Jerusalem Post. It wants to reroute the corridor through Syria instead, they said….
The initiative envisioned a network of railways, ports, and shipping lanes, connecting India to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Greece. It would provide a faster alternative to traditional maritime routes while strengthening economic integration across the region.

REGIONAL PROTECTIONISM:

EU drafts ‘Buy European’ rules for public tenders to curb foreign dependence

SEEKS TO REDUCE CHINA’S DOMINANCE OF CRITICAL MATERIALS PRODUCTION

Reuters, July 9, 2026 – The measures stop short of a blanket “Buy European” requirement, but would allow European authorities to rule out bids for big public contracts that have less than 50% European content and favour EU companies in strategic sectors.
Although the draft document ​does not specifically name China, the European Commission has already put forward other Buy European policies as it seeks ​to reduce China’s dominance of critical materials production and narrow a trade gap that expanded by ⁠10% in the first four months of this year.

MADE IN NORTH AMERICA:

CAINTRA Sees USMCA Stability Through 2036, Expands SME Financing

‘TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE AGAINST ASIAN MANUFACTUARING’

Mexico Business, July 7, 2026 – The Chamber of the Transformation Industry of Nuevo Leon (CAINTRA) said USMCA provides long-term certainty for manufacturers despite growing public attention surrounding the treaty’s upcoming joint review, while announcing a new financing alliance with Santander México to strengthen SMEs across the state.
The industrial organization said the agreement remains legally in force through 2036, emphasizing that the review process should be viewed as a routine mechanism designed to strengthen North America’s competitiveness rather than a source of uncertainty for manufacturers and investors….
While expressing confidence in the agreement’s future, CAINTRA said North America must strengthen its productive integration to remain competitive against Asian manufacturing economies.

LATIN AMERICAN NATIONS URGE US TO EXCLUDE THEM FROM FORCED LABOR TARIFFS

IndexBox, July 8, 2026 – Mexico’s Deputy Minister of Economy, Ernesto Acevedo Fernandez, characterized the additional 10% tariff as an unjust penalty for thousands of compliant Mexican businesses, pointing out that no evidence exists of forced-labor goods entering the US through Mexico. The USTR’s proposal does include a tariff exemption for Mexican goods that comply with the USMCA trade agreement. Peru’s Director of Trade Negotiations, Jose Luis Castillo Mezarina, likewise requested that his country be removed from the list, as no harm to US trade has been demonstrated.

NORTH AMERICA – USMCA:

U.S. won’t renew USMCA, opening door for negotiations

CNBC, July 1, 2026 – The decision means the USMCA will stay in effect for another decade, provided no member tries to withdraw from it. But it also triggers yearly reviews that could result in the renegotiation of major parts of the treaty.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, in a statement released while the call was ongoing, said the Trump administration “will continue to engage with Mexico and Canada to address the Agreement’s shortcomings.”
US, CANADA AND MEXICO BEGIN BUMPY NEGOTIATIONS TO RENEW NORTH AMERICAN TRADE PACT
WRAL News, July 1, 2026 – Meantime, any USMCA country can pull out of the pact provided it gives its two partners six months’ notice — a red buzzer that Canada and Mexico, dependent on trade with the United States, fear Trump just might push.

Former top Republican sees ‘Fortress North America’ concept as a winner in USMCA trade talks

Globe and Mail (Canada), June 30, 2026 – Former Republican House leader Paul Ryan agrees with Canadian politicians like Doug Ford who are pushing the concept of building “Fortress North America” as a way to win U.S. President Donald Trump’s support for a new continental trade agreement….
Mr. Ryan, who describes himself as a “Ronald Reagan, free trade Republican,” frequently criticized Mr. Trump’s trade policies. In response, Mr. Trump took to social media to call him a “loser” and the “weakest & most incompetent Speaker of the House in its History.”

FROM THE ARCHIVES – VIDEO: Global Shakedown (2015): Paul Ryan voiced support for a Middle East Free Trade Area (MEFTA) in 2009.

NORTH AMERICAN CUSTOMS UNION?

Harmonizing USMCA: Enhancing  customs to facilitate US-Mexico competitiveness

TASK FORCE RECOMMENDS: ALIGN EXTERNAL TARIFFS, HARMONIZE IMPORT/EXPORT STANDARDS, DEVELOP NORTH AMERICAN SECURITY PERIMETER

By the Binational Task Force on Economic Security and Competitiveness
Atlantic Council, June 24, 2026
….A growing share of illicit goods—fentanyl precursors, counterfeit components, and transshipped steel—enter North America through third-country seaports before reaching the land border. Addressing these flows requires extending bilateral cooperation to both countries’ perametric borders beyond land and including key Pacific and Gulf seaports. This means implementing joint inspection programs at Manzanillo and Lázaro Cárdenas (Mexico’s busiest Pacific ports, through which Chinese-origin goods are the primary flow) and Long Beach/Los Angeles on the US side. It also means harmonizing import/export standards and requirements for goods arriving from countries outside of USMCA and aligning external tariff policies where feasible to limit arbitrage opportunities and other disloyal trade practices.
A customs union would be level two of the “Five levels of economic integration.”
SIX FORMER CIA DIRECTORS ARE ON THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

See older article links, summaries in NEWS ARCHIVE

VIDEO: GLOBAL SHAKEDOWN (2015)
The world’s developing and projected regional blocs. (Excerpt @ 20:15 of 27:33)

NORTH AMERICAN CUSTOMS UNION?

Terminate USMCA

The 2020 ratification of the USMCA “free trade” agreement,” scheduled for review in 2026, created a “problem”:…China and others have been circumventing U.S. customs protection via import dumping into Mexico and Canada.
But the “solution” currently being offered by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is even further integration, by “enhancing economic security alignment on tariffs.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also favors tariff alignment into a vast “Fortress North America” economic security bloc.
Incredibly, this incremental regionalism/ globalism is being perceived as an assertion of Trumpian U.S. nationalism across the continent.
But a fully aligned, common-external-tariff structure among North American nations would constitute a “customs union”:

That would be level two of the “five levels of economic integration,” being taught and promoted in international business and other programs at universities throughout the world. The USMCA “free trade” agreement is level one.
This would take North America another step down the same incremental, Hegelian-dialectic, crisis-creating path upon which Jean Monnet pushed European nations to bring about the European Union.
In that regard, the “five levels of economic integration” is a misnomer. The more accurate label is “five steps to political union,” in which national sovereignty would be incrementally surrendered – via “free trade” – to the world’s multinational, regional blocs.
USMCA doesn’t need to be renegotiated. It needs to be terminated.