GlobalSource Partners | Country Insights

The government’s latest update confirms that the decision on Cobre Panamá will extend through the end of 2026, ruling out a formal reopening this year and reinforcing the government’s intention to avoid a contract law and preserve negotiating leverage over First Quantum. This was the first substa...

Economics: The USMCA—complex, recurring negotiations amid recent sensitive trade imbalances

MEXICO · Report · 13 Jul 2026

On July 1, Mexico, the U.S., and Canada announced that the USMCA will remain in effect through 2036 (rather than through 2042, as Mexico and Canada had proposed), with annual reviews beginning on that date and formally starting on July 20. Talks are expected to be nearly continuous, covering rule...

A second round in the power fight between Tisza and Fidesz

HUNGARY · In Brief · 13 Jul 2026

Earlier today, Tisza’s parliamentary supermajority approved a constitutional amendment, to oust the President, get rid of the head of the Constitutional Court (and three other judges in the Court, simply by reinstating a previous rule that judges must retire over the age of 70), and cancel the Fi...

Politics: U.S. security strategy and the crisis with Mexico

MEXICO · Report · 13 Jul 2026

President Sheinbaum revived tension with Washington by making the 2024 kidnapping and handover of "El Mayo" Zambada the centerpiece of her press conferences, accusing former Ambassador Ken Salazar of lying about FBI involvement based on a journalistic report describing a disguised aircraft and an...

Synthesis of the Brazilian Economy

BRAZIL ECONOMICS · Report · 13 Jul 2026

The past few weeks, emptied out by the holidays during the World Cup matches, school vacations, and the judicial and parliamentary recesses, have favored the persistence of a frozen electoral scenario, with Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro competing for the lead in opinion polls depending on the tone of...

The political impact of Jair Bolsonaro's letter and other weekly topics

BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 13 Jul 2026

The final week of activity in the National Congress began last Friday, ahead of the legislative recess. In the Senate, lawmakers may vote on the provisional measure establishing a minimum freight rate. Truck drivers are pressuring Congress to vote on the matter. Four presidential polls will be re...

This is the final week of legislative activity, the Senate may vote on the provisional measure on minimum freight rates, and the deadline for negotiations between Brazil and the U.S. on the tariffs ends on Wednesday

BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 13 Jul 2026

Starting Friday (July 17), the National Congress will recess and resume activity on August 3. Upon return, however, lawmakers will maintain a reduced schedule due to the electoral period. The Senate may vote this week on Provisional Measure (MP) No. 1,343/26, which deals with minimum freight rate...

CAATSA OUT, CHP 2.0 on deck

TURKEY · In Brief · 13 Jul 2026 · 1 response

Sunday’s weekly Tracker was supposed to be the victory lap of Politics Author (I), because two of his major predictions are on the verge of materialization. I expect Ankara to announce shipping the dreaded S-400 anti-missile systems to a third country to be yet named. This should in theory elimin...

Azerbaijan's external accounts come with an increasingly large SOFAZ asterisk

CAUCASUS / CENTRAL ASIA · In Brief · 13 Jul 2026

Azerbaijan comes second in my analysis of the external accounts in the CCA region and the improvement it saw in its CA position in 1Q26 was not for the reason one may have anticipated. The CA surplus improved to 9.5 percent of GDP in the quarter from 2.4 percent of GDP in 4Q25 and 6.5 percent of ...

Unexpected Cabinet reshuffle: Svyrydenko out, Naftogaz chief Koretskiy likely to take the lead

UKRAINE · In Brief · 12 Jul 2026

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced today that he has decided to reshuffle the Cabinet and replace current Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko with someone else — the most likely candidate being the head of Naftogaz, Sergiy Koretskiy. Other personnel changes have also been announced. Although it ...

A brief econ update

TURKEY · Report · 12 Jul 2026

Industrial production shrank sharply in May, but that was largely driven by the “other transport equipment” category., while Turkstat’s seasonally-adjusted data pointed to limited improvement in the pace of core inflation, if at all. The cash budget recovered in June, as expected, with the def...

GULF WEEKLY: Iranian attacks on tankers shatter MoU, UAE oil at record 4.1m b/d in June, Kuwait deficit surges to -15% of GDP

GULF COUNTRIES · Report · 10 Jul 2026 · 1 response

A skimmable summary overlaid with our analysis and links. Headlines: * The most serious clashes since April happened after Iran attacked ships, including a Qatari LNG carrier and a Saudi oil tanker. * Trump declared that the MoU is “over”, but Qatari mediators are back in Iran today trying to...

The Gecex approved the temporary maintenance of the 12% Export Tax on crude oil, next week will be the final week of legislative activity before the recess, and the U.S. will decide whether to implement the 25% tariff

BRAZIL POLITICS · Report · 10 Jul 2026

At a meeting held yesterday (July 9), the Executive Management Committee of the Chamber of Foreign Trade (Gecex) approved the temporary maintenance of the 12% Export Tax rate on crude oil. According to the committee, the measure was adopted in response to the deterioration of the international en...

Further progress in EU relations, and a major power test is coming next week.

HUNGARY · In Brief · 10 Jul 2026

The EU Commission has been reported today as having approved Hungary's accession to the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). EPPO will have the right to investigate local wrongdoings related to the use of EU funds, continuously from now on and retroactively going back to June 2021, when it...

Federal budget revenue collection improved in June but not enough

RUSSIA ECONOMICS · In Brief · 10 Jul 2026

The Ministry of Finance released preliminary federal budget execution data for 1H26, showing non-oil-and-gas revenues jumping m-o-m by about one-third, largely due to some taxes being paid quarterly. Still, such a sharp m-o-m rise seemed unusual, as it’s often much more moderate. While this could...