Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2667 actions· ✨ 89 recent

On 26 April 2026, the UAE Cabinet, chaired by Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, approved a four-part industrial-resilience package: (i) a National Industrial Resilience Fund with AED 1 billion (~USD 272m) capital managed by Emirates Development Bank over five years covering food industries, manufacturing, primary metals, mechanical/electrical/chemical industries, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, advanced technology, and construction — designed to localise over 5,000 critical products and link confirmed procurement demand with targeted financing for local manufacturers; (ii) structural overhaul of the National In-Country Value (ICV) Programme, transitioning it from incentive-based to MANDATORY across federal entities and companies in which the government holds 25% or more; (iii) a National Product Retail Presence Policy strengthening visibility of UAE-manufactured goods in retail and digital channels (Phase 1: bottled water, dairy, eggs, poultry, bread, flour, vegetable oils, seasonal vegetables); and (iv) a National Industrial Data Committee chaired by Hasan Jassim Al Nowais (Undersecretary, MoIAT), with AI-driven forecasting and risk management integrated into industrial-resilience monitoring.

The UAE and United States signed a bilateral Framework on Securing Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths on 4 February 2026, on the sidelines of the 2026 US Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington DC. The framework coordinates a joint UAE-US approach across mining, separation, processing, recycling, and downstream activities, leveraging UAE strategic reserves alongside US industrial demand and stockpiling infrastructure. Both parties committed to mobilise public and private investment via financing, guarantees, equity investments, offtake arrangements, insurance, and regulatory facilitation, and to streamline permitting and protect supply chains from non-market practices. Within six months, both parties intend to identify priority projects for financing, and to cooperate on recycling technology, geological mapping, and national security asset-review procedures.

Dubai's Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched AED 12.8 billion (~USD 3.5bn) in strategic expansion projects for the Dubai Silicon Oasis free zone, comprising a AED 11 billion (~USD 3.0bn) "District IO" technology district and a AED 1.8 billion (~USD 0.49bn) Block 14 mixed-use development. District IO targets smart mobility, 3D printing, robotics, X-Tech, AI, quantum computing and Web3 firms via 25 LEED-compliant buildings, R&D labs and data centres, with capacity for 6,500+ companies and a stated goal of AED 103bn GDP contribution and 70,000+ jobs by 2036. Global Trade Alert classifies the intervention as a financial grant plus an in-kind grant to the free zone.

The UAE Ministry of Economy & Tourism issued Directive No. (72) of 2026, implementing a GCC Ministerial Committee decision to impose definitive anti-dumping duties on electric accumulators (including separators), lead-acid, of a kind used for starting piston engines, originating in or exported from China and Malaysia. Chinese producers face duties of 25.8% (three named enterprises/five entities get 25.8%, 50.7%, and 63.7% respectively), a 25.8% rate for non-selected cooperating exporters, and a 74% residual rate for all other Chinese enterprises. Malaysian producers face 43.2% and 68% company-specific rates, with a 77% residual rate for other enterprises. The duties are ad valorem on CIF customs value, took effect 13 January 2026 across the GCC customs union including the UAE, and are valid for a term not exceeding five years.

On 8 January 2026, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) launched the Abu Dhabi Global Water Platform, committing an initial USD 1 billion (AED 3.67 billion) of state development finance over five years (2026-2030), with a stated ambition to mobilize USD 2 billion (AED 7.34 billion) total alongside local and international financing institutions. The platform finances water-security and water-infrastructure projects in developing countries via direct development financing, private-sector investment support, export financing, guarantees, and equity investments, targeting roughly 10 million beneficiaries worldwide; no specific recipient countries or named projects were disclosed at launch. Global Trade Alert classifies the initiative as "certainly harmful" financial assistance in a foreign market and trade finance (state-act 96013), consistent with its treatment of ADFD's prior export-financing vehicles as state-directed outbound subsidy rather than neutral aid.