Overview
- USTR’s 2026 Special 301 report, released Thursday, moved Argentina and Mexico from the Priority Watch List to the Watch List after recent policy and enforcement steps.
- For Argentina, the report credits February’s Reciprocal Trade and Investment Agreement (ARTI) and a March rollback of broad pharmaceutical patent restrictions, while noting Congress has not yet approved Patent Cooperation Treaty accession.
- For Mexico, USTR cites April rules that protect pharmaceutical and agrochemical test data and allow patent-term extensions for regulatory delays, along with new coordination between the IP office and customs.
- Despite the upgrades, USTR says both countries still grapple with widespread digital piracy and counterfeit sales in markets such as La Salada, Barrio Once and Tepito, with weak criminal penalties and slow legal processes.
- Officials frame the change as investor-friendly ahead of the T-MEC review, and USTR says it will keep up bilateral pressure to ensure the new measures are carried out.