USTR’s 2026 Special 301 Report: New Trade Tools Drive IP Reforms Abroad

On April 30, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its annual 2026 Special 301 report assessing the state of intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement. With trade policy at the forefront of the Administration’s agenda, this year’s report comes at a time of renewed scrutiny of IP protection and enforcement practices around the world.

All about trade: New trade tools, especially the inclusion of critical IP language in the Agreements on Reciprocal Trade (ARTs), played a central role in the 2026 report. The Administration’s prioritization of addressing IP issues indicates its continued and steadfast support for all American innovative and creative industries.

Key developments: The 2026 Special 301 report includes notable changes in how key markets are designated.

• The European Union was added to the Watch List, in part because of the EU General Pharmaceutical Legislation’s weakening of IP protection.

• While Mexico moved from the Priority Watch List to the Watch List following steps to address key concerns, continued engagement will be critical to ensuring that Mexico fulfills its outstanding U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) commitments including on patent linkage, regulatory data protection, and combatting online piracy.

• Argentina moved from the Priority Watch List to the Watch List after committing to strengthen IP protection and improve enforcement through its ART agreement.

• Vietnam wasdesignated a Priority Foreign Country—the first such designation in 13 years—for failing to make meaningful progress in bilateral IP engagement, as well as other fora. The Chamber will continue to push for constructive engagement to address outstanding issues.

Copyright and AI: USTR took an affirmative stance on AI and copyright, stating that the U.S. “supports the development of legal frameworks for AI development that ensure copyrights are respected and supports voluntary licensing regimes for the use of copyrighted works.”

Market access and IP: The report repeatedly emphasizes that market access is directly tied to IP protection. Inadequate IP laws, enforcement gaps, and domestic pricing policies can limit U.S. innovators’, creators’, and exporters’ ability to compete fairly in global markets.

The Bottom Line: The 2026 Special 301 report underscores how targeted trade tools are driving concrete IP reforms that support the competitiveness of American innovators and creators worldwide.We encourage the Administration to continue ensuring that 301-related engagement better protects all aspects of innovative and creative industries. Working together, industry and government can utilize trade to build more effective ecosystems for innovation and creativity.

Read the report:

About the author

Ryan Denson

Ryan Denson is Manager for International IP for the Global Innovation Policy Center at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.