Vietnam , the go-to sneaker production hub, is now facing a tough scrutiny of its intellectual property (IP) practices. The U.S. Trade Representative’s Special 301 report for 2026 adds Vietnam to its list as a Priority Foreign Country, representing the first time in 13 years that any country has been added to the list. In other changes, Argentina and Mexico were removed from the Priority Watch List to the Watch List because of improvements on IP policy. The European Union was added to the Watch List, while Bulgaria was removed. The Special 301 Report, released on Thursday, is about the adequacy and effectiveness of U.S. trading partners’ protection and enforcement of IP rights. “Using all the enforcement tools we have to address unfair trade practices is a top priority,” Ambassador Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative, said.…