Member Briefing July 27, 2026

Trump Administration Imposes New Tariffs On Dozens Of Countries, Citing Forced Labor Concerns

The Trump administration imposed tariffs of up to 12.5% Friday on goods from 60 U.S. trading partners it accused of failing to crack down on forced labor. The move, announced Thursday, extended the administration's tariffs on much of the world. Most of the trading partners are facing 12.5% tariffs, including Vietnam and China, but a lower 10% rate applies to 17 countries that have some prohibitions on forced labor, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Mexico. Five other trading partners — including the European Union — are facing some additional levy to get their total most-favored-nation tariff rate to either 10% or 12.5%.

The new tariffs went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, when a separate set of 10% levies on most imports expired. Almost immediately after the Supreme Court's February ruling struck down most of his country-by-country tariffs, Mr. Trump ordered 10% tariffs on most global imports under a law called Section 122, which gives the president the power to deal with balance-of-payment issues. But that legal authority lasted for only 150 days. The Section 122 tariffs were largely replaced by the new forced labor tariffs, which were issued under another legal authority known as Section 301. That law allows longer-lasting tariffs in response to unfair trade practices, but only if the government conducts an investigation, which U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer's office wrapped up this week.

Read more at CBS News

Flash PMIs Signal Faster Growth Across Major Developed Economies, But Supply Chain And Price Concerns Cloud Outlook

S&P Global’s flash PMI surveys showed economic growth across the major developed economies strengthening in July to signal encouraging resilience in the face of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. However, price pressures stayed elevated, and the renewed escalation of the conflict threatens to reverse some of the improvement. Business activity across the four largest advanced economies – the US, eurozone, Japan and the UK (the ‘G4’) – gained momentum for a second successive month in July, according to flash PMI data. Growth accelerated to its fastest since last November, moving above the average seen over the past three years, to mark a clear recovery from the lows caused by the war in the Middle East between March and June.

The US recorded the strongest rise, with growth at its fastest since last November. Japan followed, posting its largest increase since February. The eurozone and UK also returned to growth, after activity had stagnated in the eurozone and fallen in the UK in June. Manufacturers again reported widespread precautionary stock building as a short-term driver of higher production. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that this stock-building has begun to fade, notably in the US. In some cases, supply shortages limited purchasing. Supplier delivery times notably lengthened more sharply in the US than in Europe and Japan.

Read more at S&P Global

Paycheck Boost Gives Low-Income Workers a Breather

New federal data this week showed an acceleration in weekly earnings growth for low- and middle-income full-time workers during the second quarter, compared with a year earlier. Weekly pay rose 5.5% for workers at the 25th percentile of earnings and 4.6% for workers at the median, according to Labor Department data. That outpaced growth of 1.5% or less for higher-earning brackets. And it outpaced inflation, too: Consumer prices rose 3.9% over the same period.

Working-class Americans have felt particularly squeezed in recent years as inflation and cooling wage gains pinched their pocketbooks. Many have also missed out on the big gains in housing values and stock-market portfolios enjoyed by wealthier households. The widening gap between their fortunes and those of higher-income Americans amounted to a two-speed economy. Atsi Sheth, an economist and chief credit officer at Moody’s Ratings, called the recent data a “nice bump” for the lower income groups but cautioned that the weekly earnings growth could reflect longer working hours during the workweek rather than higher wages.

Read more at The WSJ

Iran and the Middle East

• Airstrikes Have Paused And Talks Are Pressing Forward. But Can The US And Iran Take The Off-Ramp? - AP
• Iran Says It Will Halt Strikes As Long As US Bombing Pause Holds - Reuters
• The Houthis Have Opened a New Front in the U.S.-Iran War - WSJ
• Iran Flew IRGC Commanders, Missile Gear To Yemen's Houthis, Sources Say - Reuters
• Bahrain, Kuwait Warplanes Struck Iran in Rare Gulf Retaliation - WSJ
• Israeli Strike Kills A Top Hamas Security Official In Gaza, Medics And Police Say - Reuters
• Israel Detains Over 70 Suspects Following Deadly Violence In The West Bank - AP
• Saudi Arabia’s Vast Oil Supplies Now Increasingly Depend on a Single Exit - WSJ
• Interactive Map – US and Israeli Attack in Iran – ArcGIS Story Maps
• Map – Conflicts in the Middle East – Live Universal Awareness Map

Ukraine

• Kyiv Hit With Missiles; Russia And Ukraine Both Report Civilians Killed In Strikes - Reuters
• Russia Wants 30,000 More Troops From North Korea, Zelenskyy Says – Politico
• Inside the Kill Zone On Ukraine’s Front Line - Reuters
• Wildberries, 'Russia's Amazon,' Says Ukrainian Drones Struck Three More Of Its Warehouses - Reuters
• Laura Loomer Meets With Zelenskyy In Ukraine After Her Major Reversal On The War – NBC News
• Drone Attacks on Russia’s Biggest Online Retailer Bring War Home to Middle Class - WSJ
• Interactive Map: Assessed Control Of Terrain In Ukraine – Institute For The Study Of War
• Map – Tracking Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine – Live Universal Awareness Map

Other World Headlines

• Wildfires Force Nearly 260,000 People To Evacuate In France And Spain – Reuters
• Germany Says Fatal Berlin Pride Attack Believed To Be An Act Of Islamic Extremist Terror -AP
• MSC, CMA CGM Introduce Fresh Panama Canal Surcharges – Supply Chain Dive
• China Places Former Deputy Of Top Financial Regulator Under Investigation - SCMP
• By The Numbers: This Year’s Ebola Outbreak Has Spread Faster Than The Worst On Record - AP
• When China Gets Its Own Mythos - Preparing for an AI Cyber Crisis – Foreign Affairs
• Inside China’s All-Out Push to Catch Up With American AI Chips - WSJ
• India PM Modi Announces Panel To Overhaul Exam System After Protests - Reuters
• UN Leadership Candidates Outline Visions Ahead Of Secretary-General Race – France 24
• Nighttime Drug Tests Have Become the Talk of the Tour de France - WSJ

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House GOP Presses Senate To Act On Reconciliation 3.0 Framework As Thune Hits Pause

President Trump and House GOP Leaders on Friday pressured Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to immediately take up a House-passed budget resolution to advance critical funding for the Iran war despite Thune’s statement on Thursday saying the measure doesn’t have the votes to pass in the Senate. Trump turned the screws on the Senate GOP leader to act on the House-passed bill two days after complaining at a rally in Georgia that “the Senate is a place you send things when you want them to die.”

The call to action came a day after Thune told reporters that he doesn’t have enough votes to advance the $95 billion House-passed budget bill, which includes $73 billion in funding for the Pentagon and intelligence agencies, $12 billion for farmers and $10 billion for election-related reforms. “As I’ve said before, you got to get to 50, and I can’t count to 50 right now on a budget resolution,” Thune said when asked about how the Senate would handle the House-passed budget framework. Passage of a joint budget resolution through both chambers unlocks the budget reconciliation process, which would allow Republicans to pass legislation with a simple-majority vote and circumvent a Democratic filibuster.

Read more at The Hill

Mid-Hudson Valley Counties Receive Disaster Declaration Over April Frost

A disaster declaration for Ulster, Dutchess, Columbia and Greene counties was granted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in response to a catastrophic spring freeze that severely damaged early-blooming crops like apples, cherries and other stone fruits. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the declaration on Saturday morning, July 25. The designation enables farmers affected by the frost to apply for low-interest emergency farm loans to cover their losses and could pause repayment requirements on already existing loans.

Freezing temperatures that dipped below 23 degrees April 19 – 21 significantly damaged the primary and secondary fruiting buds and shoots of fruit crops, including apples, grapes, stone fruit — peaches, plums, cherries — pears and strawberries across the regions, particularly those in higher elevations, following warmer-than-average temperatures that brought many crops to bud early, the governor’s office said. In addition to the Mid-Hudson Valley, disaster declarations were granted for counties in the Capital Region, the Southern Tier, the Finger Lakes, Central New York, Long Island, the Mohawk Valley, Western New York and the North Country.

Read more at The Daily Freeman

NYS Mid-Decade Redistricting Could Be Linked To Challenging 2030 Census

In June, the U.S. Department of Commerce submitted a proposed rule on the following: “Decennial Census of the Population of Americans, Proposed Residence Criteria and Proposed Regulations for Demographic Questions." There have been no additional details released, but according to a Rapid Response Briefing produced by groups including the Association of Public Data Users and the Census Quality Reinforcement Taskforce, the proposed rules changes may mean reforms to residence criteria; changes to demographic questions, including adding a citizenship question; and changes to questions about race and ethnicity. All of these changes could mean a lower census count in New York state which is already projected to lose at least two congressional districts under the current rules.

Experts are also expecting to see a corresponding push by New York Democrats to find every possible seat using mid-decade redistricting, if a constitutional amendment allowing it is passed by voters. The state constitutional amendment that the legislature approved in June will need second approval by the legislature in January. After that, it will need to go before New York State voters. If the amendment is approved, the 2028 cycle of mid-decade redistricting would begin. While first passage of a new redistricting constitutional amendment was a top priority for lawmakers this session, according to a recent Siena University poll, it’s not a priority for New York voters. Siena found that only 21% of respondents think the amendment is a good idea, while 44% think it’s not.

Read more at New York State of Politics

More Policy and Politics Headlines

• Democrats Favored To Win House, Underdogs In Senate 100 Days Out – The Hill
• Cheaper, Open And Intelligent: Chinese AI Models Gain Ground, As They Make Inroads In The US - AP
• House And Senate Split On Votes To Rebuke Trump On Iran War - Politico
• How House Democrats Turned Against Israel Aid - WSJ
• Mamdani Appoints Antitrust Crusader Lina Khan As Chair Of NYC Economic Development Agency - Gothamist
• Mary-Dell Chilton, NC Biochemist Who Revolutionized Agriculture, Dies At 87 – News & Observer
• Maine Democrats Officially Select Troy Jackson To Replace Graham Platner - Politico
• Senate Newcomer Darline Graham Gets Crash Course in Politics - WSJ
• Trump Returns To WHCD With Measured Tribute And Sharp Attacks After April Shooting – CBS

GLP-1 Drugs Linked To 17% Drop In Worker Sick Leave, New Economic Study Finds

GLP-1 drugs could lead to cost savings for workers and their employers by reducing employee sick leave, a new economic study finds.  Researchers found that patients who used the drugs, sold under brand names including Ozempic and Wegovy, took 17% less long-term sick leave than people who didn't use the medications. The study defines long-term sick leave as illness-related absences lasting more than 30 days, according to the paper, published this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The reduction in worker absences translates to savings of up to 1.5% of an individual's salary, or roughly $866 on average, according to the study, which analyzed worker and medication usage data from Denmark. A reduction in short-term illness led to savings for employers, while fewer longer-term absences saved the government money, according to the report. "In the U.S., which doesn't have the generous sick leave policy of Denmark, people get sick and they go to work. They're less productive because they feel crappy," Jonathan Zhang, one of the study's co-authors and a professor at Duke University said, noting that neither the employee nor the firm benefits in such a scenario. He added that if the drugs help reduce "presenteeism" — when employees come to work but aren't able to perform at their best because of health issues — companies could become more productive while workers could get more done and potentially earn more promotions.

Read more at CBS News

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Trade Wars

• China Adds 14 EU Entities To Export Control List Over Russia-Related Sanctions - Reuters
• Inside the Decadelong Saga to Open a New Detroit Bridge to Canada - WSJ
• US-India Trade Deal Could Be Signed In 3-4 Months, US Official Says - Reuters
• Trump’s Tariffs: Tracking The Status Of US Trade Actions – Supply Chain Dive
• Asia Braces For New US Tariffs As Global 10% Levy Expires – Nikkei Asia
• Trump Threatens New Tariffs on EU Over Tech Fines – WSJ

Cleveland-Cliffs Q2 Earnings and Sales Beat Estimates on Higher Steel Pricing

CLF reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted loss of 20 cents per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 21 cents and the year-ago loss of 51 cents. Revenues rose 5.9% year over year to $5.2 billion and surpassed the consensus estimate of $5.1 billion by 1.9%. Higher steel pricing supported the top line and margin improvement, although steel shipment volumes declined from the prior-year quarter.

Steelmaking revenues increased 5.9% year over year to $5.05 million from $4.8 billion. The segment generated a cash margin of $349 million, up sharply from $138 million in the year-ago quarter, reflecting stronger selling prices and improved cost performance. The average net selling price per net ton of steel products was $1,124, up 10.7% from $1,015 a year earlier. The metric was above the consensus estimate of $1,109. External sales volumes for steel products totaled 4.025 million net tons, down 6.2% from 4.290 million net tons in the prior-year quarter. The figure missed the consensus estimate of 4.11 million net tons.

Read more at Yahoo Finance

Intel Rides AI Boom To Fastest Revenue Growth In Almost 15 Years

Intel reported better-than-expected second-quarter results on Thursday, notching its fastest revenue growth rate for any quarter since 2011 and issuing guidance that topped expectations. Earnings per share were 42 cents, adjusted, versus 21 cents expected and revenue was $16.1 billion, versus $14.42 billion expected. The company is getting a boost from the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom, which is helping sales of its server processors. Intel’s 25% revenue growth was the fastest for any period in almost 15 years.

Revenue in the company’s client computing group, which makes chips for PCs, rose 13% to $8.9 billion. It’s still Intel’s biggest unit, but the robust growth is coming from its data center business, where revenue rose 59% to $6.3 billion. Intel is boosting its capital expenditures, targeting a “meaningful increase” next year, as it aggressively tries to morph into a manufacturer of chips for other companies. The compaqny’s gross margin also recovered to 42%, up from 2.5% in the year-ago period, which the company attributed to benefits of scale with more revenue, as well as selling chips with higher margins and pricing.

Read more at CNBC

Farnborough Generates 327 Commercial Jet Orders

Boeing edged Airbus ⁠in ⁠a subdued series of order announcements at the ⁠Farnborough Airshow this week, as the global aerospace industry focuses on fixing lingering supply constraints and catching ​up on record order backlogs. The deals — worth tens of billions of dollars — were in line with expectations within the industry for just over 300 orders, reported by ‌Reuters ahead of the event, but fell short ‌of some bullish external forecasts reaching as high as 800 aircraft.

Boeing announced firm and preliminary orders for 173 aircraft, helped ​by a mix of narrowbody and widebody deals, while its European rival announced 154 firm and provisional orders, for a total ⁠of ⁠327, according to a Reuters tally. With manufacturers focused on increasing output and airlines facing long waits for new jets, air shows are generating fewer headline-grabbing orders and even planes than in the past. The week's biggest commercial deal came from the world's second-largest lessor SMBC Aviation, which split an order for 200 single-aisle jets evenly between the two main planemakers, buying 100 Boeing 737 MAX and 100 Airbus A320neo-family jets. The deal underscored still-strong demand for narrowbody aircraft, the workhorses of short- and medium-haul travel, despite scarce delivery slots and supplier bottlenecks.

Read more at US News

SonicWall Report: Despite Steep Decline In Cyberattacks Targeting Manufacturers, Threats Remain High

While cyberattacks aimed at the manufacturing sector have declined significantly compared to last year, risks remain high as factories open up new entry points for hackers to exploit, according to a new report from California-based cybersecurity company SonicWall. Manufacturing had a 56.2% year-over-year decline in malicious traffic in the first half of 2026, marking the steepest drop of any vertical tracked by SonicWall. However, the overall volume of threats on the industry remains high at 474 million over the period.

The biggest threats are coming from networked security cameras, industrial sensors and smart building controls as manufacturers bring more operational technology online. The report drew data from SonicWall’s global network of more than 1 million security sensors. As manufacturers scale advanced monitoring and maintenance technology to enhance their operations, they are also expanding the “attack surface” for hackers, according to SonicWall’s report. At the same time, security models are not keeping up with the rapid changes. “Every connection added for operational convenience, remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, vendor access to production systems, is also a connection an attacker can walk through,” Michael Crean, SonicWall’s senior vice president of managed services, said in a statement.

Read more at Manufacturing Dive

Penske And Mitsui Seek To Take Penske Auto Private In $3.8B Deal

Penske Corp., Tokyo-based Mitsui & Co. Ltd., and Mitsui’s New York-based U.S. subsidiary announced a proposal on July 22 to acquire the 27.8% of publicly traded megadealer Penske Automotive Group they don’t already own, and take it private. The estimated cost would be $3.8 billion, based on a proposed price per share of $210, for 18.2 million shares. The proposal is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

Under Roger Penske, founder and chairman, Penske Corp. and its Penske Automotive Holdings Corp. already own approximately 52% of the dealership group. Penske Automotive is based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. As of March 31, 2026, Penske Automotive operated 368 franchised, retail automotive dealerships, 149 in the United States and 219 outside the U.S. market, mostly in the United Kingdom, the company said in its quarterly report filed with the SEC.

Read more at Ward’s Auto

Conagra To Invest $125M In Supply Chain Resilience

Consumer packaged goods company Conagra Brands plans to invest an incremental $125 million in fiscal 2027 to strengthen its supply chain and lower costs by moving more production in-house, President and CEO John Brase said on a July 15 earnings call. The spending will contribute to the company’s goals of improving supply chain resiliency, maintaining high service levels and reducing inventory and days of inventory, according to the call. “I don’t believe we’re investing enough in our brands and our supply chain, again, why you’ve seen a significant step-up and investment there,” Brase said.

Conagra is prioritizing supply chain resiliency as part of its plans to spend 4% to 5% of net sales on capital expenditures, according to Matthew Neisius, senior director of investor relations. The company is evaluating projects to ensure a strong supply chain foundation while also pursuing initiatives in technology and artificial intelligence to streamline work within the company’s manufacturing facilities, executives said. That effort, unveiled last December as Project Catalyst, aims to reengineer and automate core business processes using technology.

Read more at Supply Chain Dive

The 10 U.S. States Where Electricity Costs the Most

Electricity prices vary widely across the United States, with some states paying significantly more than others for the same amount of power. Factors such as fuel availability, utility infrastructure, regulations, and population demand all play a role in determining monthly electric bills. In this video, we rank the 10 states with the highest electricity costs and explore the reasons behind their expensive rates.

New Jersey, Vermont, Maine, New York, Rhode Island, Alaska, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, California, Hawaii.

Watch the Video at Yahoo

Daily Market Update July 24, 2026

The August ’26 natural gas contract is trading up $0.03 at $2.95. The September ‘26 crude oil contract is down $2.79 at $89.40.  

Read more at NRG

Learn more about the Council of Industry Energy Buying Group

Quote of the Day

"It's the right idea, but not the right time."

John Dalton - English Chemist, Physicist and Meteorologist who died on this day in 1844.

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