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Syncrude Mildred Lake plant, Alberta — illustrative refinery-type image; not a U.S. small refinery — Photo: TastyCakes / Jamitzky, public domain

Policy Watch|United States

EPA proposes shifting 770 million extra refinery-exemption RINs onto 2026–27 fuel standards

After granting more 2025 small refinery exemptions than it had projected, EPA is co-proposing two ways to put the extra 770 million RINs back into the 2026 and 2027 Renewable Fuel Standard obligations. EPA estimates the change adds less than one cent a gallon to gasoline and diesel. Comments are due 4 December 2026; a virtual hearing is set for 4 November.

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Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park, Texas — illustrative border landscape; not a worksite named in the rule — Photo: Yinan Chen, public domain

Policy Watch|United States

DHS makes permanent its ban on automatic work-permit renewals while a new card is pending

A final rule published 14 October 2026 (91 FR 65306) adopts without change the October 2025 interim rule that ended automatic extensions of Employment Authorization Documents for people who timely renew in covered categories. Asylum seekers and green-card applicants are the two biggest groups. Renewals filed before 30 October 2025 can still get up to 540 days; those filed on or after that date cannot. The rule is effective on publication.

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Policy Watch|United States

EPA pushes the 2025 greenhouse-gas reporting deadline to 10 March 2027

An interim final rule published 14 October 2026 (91 FR 65112) moves the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program deadline for reporting-year 2025 data from 30 October 2026 to 10 March 2027. Nothing else in the reporting rule changes. EPA says it needs time to finish work on a separate reconsideration proposal. Comments on this deadline shift are due 30 November 2026.

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Daily Teabag policy graphic

Economy & Jobs|United States, Canada

U.S. sets out how Canadian and Mexican goods can count American parts and metal to cut a 25% tariff

A Commerce Department notice publishing on 14 October 2026 tells U.S. Customs what counts as “U.S. content” for USMCA-qualifying goods from Canada and Mexico under Proclamation 11032. Those goods pay the 25% steel-and-aluminum duty only on their non-U.S. content, with a 15% floor. The guidance lets importers count U.S.-made parts and, separately, steel melted and poured or aluminum and copper smelted and cast in the U.S.

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Amtrak Adirondack train at Rouses Point, New York, near the Quebec border — illustrative; the proposal does not name specific services — Photo: David McCormack, CC BY 2.0

Policy Watch|United States, Canada

U.S. border agency proposes making railways send it every cross-border passenger’s details an hour before the train leaves

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection proposed rule, scheduled for Federal Register publication on 13 October 2026, would require rail carriers to transmit each passenger’s and crew member’s name, date of birth, sex, citizenship, residence, travel-document details, itinerary, U.S. address, seat, and phone and email if given, at least 60 minutes before any train leaves for or from the United States, including trains to and from Canada. Sharing this data has been voluntary since 2005, and CBP says one carrier does it now. Comments are open for 60 days.

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Chugach National Forest entrance sign, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska — illustrative; no specific project — Photo: USDA Forest Service Alaska Region, public domain

Policy Watch|United States

U.S. Forest Service gives the public as little as 10 days to object to national-forest projects, down from 45

A USDA final rule, scheduled for Federal Register publication on 13 October 2026 and effective 30 days later, rewrites how people challenge logging, grazing, road and other projects on national forests and grasslands before they are approved. Comment periods drop to 15 days for environmental assessments and 30 for environmental impact statements, from 30 and 45. The window to file an objection falls to 10 or 20 days, from 45 for most projects. The independent reviewing officer is dropped, and notices move from newspapers to USDA websites. Because objecting is a precondition for suing, the shorter windows also bear on who can go to court.

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Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park, Texas — Photo: Yinan Chen, public domain

Policy Watch|United States

DHS makes its fast-track fines for migrants who ignore removal orders permanent, after issuing about 176,000 under the interim rule

A joint DHS–Justice final rule, published 14 October 2026 at 91 FR 65390, adopts the June 2025 interim rule that lets ICE and CBP issue civil fines directly and moves appeals from the Board of Immigration Appeals to a DHS supervisor. The only change: ICE may accept a late appeal if documented mail delays caused it. Fines run up to $998 a day for willfully failing to leave after a final removal order. The rule is effective on publication.

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