Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2665 actions· ✨ 90 recent

On 14 May 2026, following an on-site inspection of mining operations in Mpanda Municipality and Nsimbo District Council in Tanzania's Katavi Region, Minister for Minerals Hon. Anthony Mavunde ordered the immediate suspension of all mining activities along the Mtisi River after inspectors found severe environmental degradation, absence of environmental management plans and NEMC permits, and foreign nationals operating machinery directly — in violation of the Mining Act Cap. 123 (R.E. 2019), which restricts foreign parties under Technical Support Agreements (TSAs) to advisory and technical-support roles only. Mavunde simultaneously directed all Resident Mining Offices nationwide to conduct a review of every TSA between local small-scale miners and foreign investors to verify legal compliance and ensure that agreements genuinely benefit Tanzanian citizens. Three large exploration licences recently revoked (linked to the 15 April 2026 mass-revocation) are to be reallocated to small-scale miners in Katavi Region under the Mining for a Brighter Tomorrow (MBT) framework.

The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced on April 28, 2026 that China will extend zero-tariff treatment (preferential tariff rate of 0%) to all 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations, effective May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2028. The measure adds 20 African non-LDC nations to the existing zero-tariff scheme already covering 33 African LDCs since December 2024, making China the first major economy to grant full-coverage zero-tariff access to all African diplomatic partners. Coverage extends to all tariff lines except out-of-quota products (where only in-quota rates move to zero); eSwatini is excluded as it maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan rather than the PRC.

On 15 April 2026 Tanzania's Minister for Minerals Hon. Anthony Mavunde announced at a press conference in Dodoma the revocation of 40 idle mineral exploration licences covering 188,163 hectares, following a ministerial assessment that found widespread licence-holder breaches: hoarding of blocks without development activity, non-payment of statutory fees and royalty obligations, failure to meet local-content requirements under GN 563/2025, and neglect of corporate social responsibility obligations to host communities. Revoked areas are to be reallocated under the "Mining for a Brighter Tomorrow" (MBT) framework with explicit preference for small-scale miners, women, youth, and persons with disabilities. A companion default-notice batch issued on 10 April 2026 covered 43 additional licences (40 exploration + 3 medium-scale mining) with 30-day rectification windows before further revocations proceed.

The Government of Tanzania signed a Development Agreement with Panda Hill Tanzania Limited (a subsidiary of US-based Denham Capital / Tremont Investments) on 24 March 2026 in Mbeya to develop the Panda Hill niobium and ferroniobium project in the Mbeya/Songwe region. Under the agreement, the Government holds a 16% non-dilutable free carried interest in the project special-purpose vehicle, with Panda Hill Tanzania Limited committing to an initial capital investment of USD 442 million to construct Tanzania's first niobium mine and ferroniobium smelting plant — the first ferroniobium processing facility in Africa. At full production, the project is expected to supply approximately 4–5% of global niobium demand, generating USD 686 million in lifetime government revenues (royalties, taxes, and 16% equity dividends), positioning Tanzania among the world's top-four niobium producers alongside Brazil's CBMM, Canada's Niobec, and China Molybdenum.

On 20 March 2026, METI/MOFA (Japan) and the US Departments of State and Energy jointly published the "Japan–United States Critical Minerals Project Cooperation Joint Fact Sheet," identifying five specific upstream critical-mineral projects spanning four continents (Australia, Tanzania, Brazil, UAE, Namibia) to receive structured joint financing through JOGMEC equity and offtake instruments and US DFC/Ex-Im Bank facilities. The document operationalises the October 2025 US-Japan Critical Minerals Framework and the same-day Action Plan, converting policy-framework language into named project commitments covering nickel, lithium, battery-anode graphite, and heavy rare earths. It was released the day following the Takaichi–Trump summit on 19 March 2026 and follows the Critical Minerals Investment Ministerial convened in Tokyo on 14 March 2026.

The Minister of Minerals published Government Notice No. 692 of 2025 on 19 December 2025, amending the Mining (Corporate Social Responsibility) Regulations 2023 (GN 409/2023) made under section 105 of the Mining Act, Cap. 123. Key operative changes include restructuring the CSR Expert Committee, imposing statutory 14-day timelines for plan revision and ministerial submission, enhancing licensee financial-reporting obligations, and granting explicit corrective-action authority against underperforming contractors. All Tanzanian mining licensees — including Barrick (North Mara, Bulyanhulu), AngloGold Ashanti (Geita), and Petra Diamonds (Williamson) — are subject to the tightened compliance framework.

On 8 October 2025 South Africa's Public Investment Corporation (PIC) — the state-owned asset manager that invests the Government Employees Pension Fund and other public-sector funds — announced it has set aside ZAR 1.35 billion (~USD 78.7 million) to fund early-stage mining projects, from post-scoping through bankable-feasibility-study stage. Capital is deployed indirectly via private equity, venture capital, specialist mining funds and joint ventures, in tickets of ZAR 100-400 million per project. At least 50% of funded projects must be in South Africa, with the remainder earmarked for copper/cobalt in Zambia and the DRC, rare earths in Malawi, and graphite in Tanzania and Madagascar. The fund explicitly targets minerals aligned with South Africa's Just Energy Transition (JET) and carries BEE Level 2 / Historically Disadvantaged Individuals preference criteria for South African applicants.

Tanzania's Minister for Minerals issued the Mining (Local Content) (Amendment) Regulations, 2025 via Government Notice No. 563 of 2025, published on 12 September 2025 and in force on the same day with no grace period. The amendment overhauls the Mining (Local Content) Regulations, 2018 (GN No. 3 of 2018) and introduces a new Regulation 13A empowering the Tanzania Mining Commission to publish — in the Gazette, on its website, and in nationwide media — a list of "reserved" goods and services that may be supplied only by an Indigenous Tanzanian Company (ITC) that is 100% Tanzanian-owned (no joint venture permitted in those reserved categories). For non-reserved categories, non- indigenous suppliers must form a JV with an ITC operating in the same line of business in which the ITC holds at least 20% equity, with the JV agreement subject to prior Mining Commission approval. Sole-sourced contracts above ~USD 10,000 must be notified to the Commission, and Local Content Plans must now include Banking Services and Procurement sub-plans, channelling mining-related financial transactions through Tanzanian-registered banks.

Tanzania's Parliament enacted the Finance Act, No. 11 of 2025 on 30 June 2025 (presidential assent same day), in force 1 July 2025, introducing three structurally distinct amendments to the Mining Act, Cap. 123 that sit on top of the 2024-11-05 Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 4) Act and the 2025-09-12 Mining (Local Content) (Amendment) Regulations GN 563/2025. (i) New Section 113A creates an "HIV Response Levy" at 0.1% of gross mineral value, payable concurrently with mineral royalty by all mineral-right holders and licensees, allocated 70% to the AIDS Trust Fund (under the Tanzania Commission for AIDS Act, Cap. 379) and 30% to the Universal Health Insurance Fund (under the Universal Health Insurance Act, No. 12 of 2023). (ii) Section 59 of the Mining Act is amended to extend the 20% local-value-addition gold-allocation requirement (mandatory supply of refined gold to domestic smelting, refining, and trading operators) from holders of mineral-development agreements to **all** gold-licence holders with no carve-out. (iii) The withholding-tax rate on non-resident service providers under Section 60 is raised to 10% to incentivise use of local service providers. The amendments combine a new social-fund mineral levy, a horizontal expansion of the domestic-beneficiation mandate, and a tax-side push for service localisation — adding a fiscal-instrument layer on top of the 2024-25 critical-minerals classification and 2025 local-content reservation framework.

South Africa's International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) made a preliminary finding that clear float glass imported from Tanzania was being dumped into the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) market, causing material injury and threat of further injury to the domestic glass industry. Following the investigation (initiated 6 June 2025 and detailed in ITAC Report 762), ITAC requested the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to impose provisional anti-dumping duties on imports classifiable under tariff subheadings 7005.29.17, 7005.29.23, 7005.29.25 and 7005.29.35. SARS implemented the provisional payments on 23 January 2026, running through 22 July 2026 pending a definitive determination; the specific duty rate was not disclosed in ITAC's public release. The measure applies across the entire SACU customs territory (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, Lesotho).

At its 34th session in Harare on 5 June 2025, the SADC Committee of Ministers of Trade formally endorsed Angola's accession to the SADC Free Trade Area after Angola submitted its final tariff offer covering 90% of tariff lines — surpassing the SADC standard threshold of 85%. Angola becomes the 14th SADC member state to join the FTA, with implementation targeted for January 2026. The accession ends Angola's longstanding outlier status as the region's second-largest economy operating outside the bloc's duty-free zone, and opens tariff-free corridors between Angola and FTA members including South Africa, Zambia, DRC, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.

Tanzania's Parliament passed the Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 4) Act, 2024 (Bill No. 15 of 2024, published in the Special Gazette of the United Republic of Tanzania No. 34 Vol. 105 on 5 November 2024), which amends eight statutes including the Mining Act, Cap. 123. The mining-related provisions: (i) empower the Minister for Minerals, on recommendation from the Geological Survey of Tanzania (GST), to declare specific minerals as "critical" (essential to national economic, geopolitical, technology, or industrial use with limited or threatened supply) or "strategic" (mineral resources with diplomatic or defence importance) — the first Tanzanian statutory authority to do so; (ii) raise the minimum capital investment for a Mining Licence from USD 100,000 to USD 5,000,000 (a 50× hike pricing out junior explorers); (iii) authorise gemstone export following government-organised mineral auctions or international gem fairs while reaffirming the general beneficiation-in-Tanzania requirement on raw minerals and concentrates; (iv) require GST verification of mineral data on samples exported by mineral right holders; and (v) impose penalties for inaccurate or false mineral-data submissions. The Act establishes the gateway statutory authority for any future Tanzania critical- mineral export-control or stockpiling regime.

Tanzania's Parliament passed Act No. 10 of 2022, the Tanzania Investment Act, 2022, on 2 December 2022, repealing the Tanzania Investment Act 1997 (Cap. 38 / Act No. 26 of 1997) — the first major overhaul of the country's foreign-investment legal framework in 25 years. The new Act restructures the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) into a One-Stop Facilitation Centre with an integrated electronic system, introduces Strategic and Major Investment Certificates (with capital thresholds of USD 50m foreign / USD 20m local plus minimum 1,000 local jobs and 50% export-uplift requirements), reduces the minimum capital threshold for ordinary local investors from USD 100,000 to USD 50,000, and codifies dispute-resolution access via local arbitration, ICSID, and bilateral/multilateral investment protection agreements. The Act was operationalised by Government Notice No. 94 of 17 February 2023.

Tanzania's Parliament enacted Act No. 5 of 2017, the Natural Wealth and Resources (Permanent Sovereignty) Act, as part of a landmark resource-nationalism legislative trio (alongside Act No. 6 on unconscionable contract renegotiation and Written Laws Miscellaneous Amendments No. 7), signed into law by President John Magufuli on 4 July 2017. The Act vests all of Tanzania's natural wealth and resources — minerals, oil and natural gas, fisheries, wildlife, forestry, water, and related sub-surface assets — as the permanent and inalienable property of the People of the United Republic, held in trust by the President on their behalf. Key operative provisions prohibit international commercial arbitration of natural-resource disputes (mandating adjudication within Tanzanian courts under Tanzanian law), empower Parliament to review and require renegotiation of any natural-resource arrangement containing "unconscionable terms," impose an in-country banking rule on earnings from natural wealth extraction, and authorise statutory override of contractual stabilisation clauses embedded in pre-2017 mining development agreements. The Act is the foundational parent statute underpinning all subsequent Tanzanian mining-sector reform, including the 2024 Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 4) Act critical/strategic minerals classification and the 2025 Finance Act mining amendments.