Mentions of tariffs in procurement agreements have jumped by almost 50 percent in June-October, according to the inaugural "2026 Contract Trends Report" published by artificial intelligence company Spellbook.
The report revealed that nearly 17 percent of sales agreements include tariff provisions, as do 3 percent of independent contractor agreements. Tariff-related keywords are seen in 9.9 percent of master services agreements, 7.5 percent of software as a service contracts, and 6.3 percent of licensing deals.
Provisions cover the bearer of material costs if tariffs are implemented, the adjustment of prices accordingly, and the potential termination of agreements should trade conditions shift. “New tariff event” has appeared as a defined term in various contract types, and the phrase “threatened tariff” has emerged in subcontract pricing.
The report noted that the use of tariff keywords increased after the Federal Circuit overturned IEEPA-based tariffs on August 29.
AI provisions
Contracts are also taking Ai into consideration, with “AI usage policy” appearing as a standalone clause in SaaS, MSA, licensing, and contractor agreements over the past two years. According to Spellbook, it is among the quickest adoptions of new contract language in recent history.
The report showed that agreements related to data and intellectual property rights, data processing agreements, and confidentiality contain AI provisions, with the word “artificial intelligence” emerging in 17.9 percent of SaaS services agreements. Non-disclosure agreements in particular have seen an increase in AI language.
Clear limitations on AI use, output ownership, and confidentiality are also being set for independent contractors using AI tools, with 8 percent of independent contractor agreements including such clauses.
The report also highlighted the high-risk provisions in NDAs. Thirty-five percent of such agreements stipulate permanent confidentiality, and 97 percent leave out residuals rights. Seventy percent incorporate automatic injunctive relief, and 35 percent clearly permit unrestricted liability.
Moreover, the report’s findings showed that 60 percent of commercial terms of service agreements for subscriptions had automatic renewal clauses that typically extended a subscription for another 12 months. Forty percent forbade termination for convenience in the first term, and 40 percent of agreements that did permit cancellation mandated at least 30 days’ notice – even 365 days in some cases.
The State of Contracts 2026 report obtained statistics on over 250 deal points in 14 agreement types.