The United States for case solvers

Sectors that come up

• Technology, software and AI, where business investment has been strong.
• Healthcare: hospitals, insurers, medicines and devices.
• Retail and consumer goods, financial services, and energy (the country is a net energy exporter).

• The Federal Reserve sets interest rates. The Securities and Exchange Commission oversees stock markets; the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice review mergers and competition; the Food and Drug Administration approves medicines and devices.
• The US Trade Representative leads trade policy, and the President can set some tariffs under specific laws.
• States matter: there is no national VAT, and each state sets its own sales tax, many licences and some rules, so one product can face different rules across the country.

• Tariffs: broad tariffs set in 2025 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were struck down by the Supreme Court on 20 February 2026; a 10 percent temporary surcharge followed from 24 February for 150 days; and from July 2026 tariffs of 10 or 12.5 percent apply to most imports from 60 economies under Section 301.
• Interest rates: the Federal Reserve cut three times in late 2025, to 3.50 to 3.75 percent, then raised its target range to 3.75 to 4.00 percent on 16 September 2026 (effective 17 September), saying inflation remained elevated.
• Trade agreements: on 1 July 2026 the United States did not agree to renew the USMCA with Mexico and Canada in its current form; the agreement remains in force while talks continue.

• Scale is huge but split by state: taxes, licences and rules differ, so a national launch is often 50 launches.
• Check tariff exposure by country of origin: two suppliers with the same price can have different landed costs because their countries face different tariff rates.
• Labour is costly and customers are rich: cases often turn on premium products, convenience, and automation to save labour.