Chokepoint
Recorded transits through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 3.3 a day in the week to 25 October 2026, against 86 a day in 2025, after the United States and Israel struck Iran on 28 February. Iran said on 4 October that the strait would stay closed until its conditions were met.
Chokepoint
The Panama Canal Authority cut booking slots on 20 August 2026, citing below-average rainfall. On 28 September it raised the Neopanamax draft and added a slot from 15 October; Panamax slots stay at 23 a day. On 21 October it reinstated last-minute reservations at the Panamax locks, citing recent close-to-average rainfall, while saying the water deficit persists.
Trade policy
On 10 November 2026 USTR published a notice extending all 178 exclusions from the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods to 11:59 p.m. Eastern on 9 January 2027, a day after the previous extension ended. It said it may consider further extensions.
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