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

On 16 January 2026 the Saudi Council of Ministers, via Cabinet Decision No. 468/1447 (issued 30 December 2025 / 9 Rajab 1447H), published in the Umm Al-Qura Official Gazette four sets of implementing regulations governing the King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), Ras Al-Khair, Jazan, and Cloud Computing & IT Special Economic Zones. The regulations entered into force on 16 April 2026 (90 days after gazette publication) and operationalise the SEZ framework first launched by ECZA in April 2023. Each zone has its own standalone framework but they share a common headline tax package: 5% corporate income tax for up to 20 years, zero VAT on intra-SEZ and SEZ-import flows, customs-duty suspension on qualifying imports, withholding-tax exemption on dividends and approved cross-border payments, and exemption from key provisions of the Saudi Companies Law, Commercial Register Law, and Trade Names Law. KAEC focuses on advanced manufacturing, automotive, consumer goods, ICT and pharmaceuticals; Ras Al-Khair targets shipbuilding, offshore rigs and MRO; Jazan covers food processing, metals conversion and logistics for Africa-bound trade; the Cloud Computing SEZ is a virtual zone (data centres can sit anywhere in KSA, headquarters must be in Riyadh) for cloud and AI-compute workloads. The package is the operational implementation layer for the 2024 Investment Law and a core Vision 2030 FDI-attraction instrument.

On 28 October 2025, Saudi Arabia's Local Content & Government Procurement Authority (LCGPA) signed five localization and knowledge-transfer agreements on the sidelines of the Global Health Exhibition 2025, covering domestic manufacture and technology transfer for the biologic drugs etanercept and adalimumab (both used to treat chronic inflammatory / autoimmune conditions) and for orthopedic trauma implants. The adalimumab agreement was signed separately with Boston Oncology Arabia and Tabuk Pharmaceuticals. Boston Oncology's own disclosure of its adalimumab/ etanercept agreement (announced 4 November 2025) put the combined economic impact at over SAR 1.2 billion in cumulative GDP contribution and approximately 500 direct jobs, with production sited at its Sudair Industrial City facility (USFDA/EMA/SFDA-standard). Global Trade Alert's tracking of the same state act records seven counterparties in total (Boston Oncology, Tabuk Pharmaceuticals, Rameem Medical, Bio Vision, Sudair Pharma, Almana Company, and an additional pharma manufacturer), consistent with LCGPA's practice of bundling several related product-localization signings into one event.

Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Foreign Trade (GAFT) issued its final affirmative dumping/injury determination on rutile-grade titanium dioxide (HS 3206.11) originating in China on 27 October 2025, published in the Umm Al-Qura official gazette and effective 28 October 2025. Producer-specific CIF duty rates were set at 19.39% (Shandong Dawn), 29.65% (Anhui Gold Star), 30.9% (LB Group/Lomon Billions), 32.21% (Yibin Tianyuan), and 37.27% (Pangang Group Vanadium & Titanium Resources), with a 45% residual rate for all other Chinese exporters. Anatase-grade TiO2 is explicitly excluded from scope. The measure runs for five years to 26 October 2030, with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority directed to collect the duty.

The Saudi Council of Ministers adopted Resolution No. 269 on 11 October 2025, amending the Precious Metals and Gemstones Law to transfer all supervision, regulation, and licensing of precious-metals and gemstones manufacturing activities from the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) to the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIM). The Ministry of Commerce retains authority over retail trade outlets and consumer-facing commercial activities. A six-month transition window — announced jointly by MoC and MIM on 16 October 2025 — requires all existing manufacturing practitioners to obtain an industrial licence through the "Sanai" platform; mandatory hallmarking, gemstone identification tagging, and consumer-documentation standards also take effect under the revised regulatory framework.

Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Foreign Trade (GAFT), chaired by Dr. Majed Alkassabi, issued its final affirmative determination on 29 June 2025 imposing definitive anti-dumping duties on longitudinally-welded circular stainless-steel pipes and tubes originating in or exported from the People's Republic of China and Taiwan. Duty rates range from 6.5% to 27.3% depending on exporter, effective 30 June 2025, following an investigation opened 2 May 2024 on a domestic-industry complaint. The measure runs for five years, with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) directed to collect the duty at the border.

Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Foreign Trade (GAFT), under Chairman Dr. Majed Alkassabi, issued a final affirmative determination imposing definitive anti-dumping duties on Sulphonated Naphthalene Formaldehyde (SNF) — a concrete superplasticiser/water- reducing admixture — originating in or exported from China and Russia. The decision was published in the official gazette on 2 December 2024 and took effect 3 December 2024, directing the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority to collect duties in the range of 18.12%-34% for five years (to 2 December 2029). The investigation was initiated 20 November 2023 following a complaint from the Saudi domestic industry.

The GCC Bureau of Technical Secretariat for Anti-Injurious Practices in International Trade (GCC-TSAIP) imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty of 33% on imports of aluminium alloy plates, sheets and strip (HS 7606.12.00 and 7606.92.00) originating in China, effective across all six GCC member states (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman). The investigation was initiated 29 April 2020 and the definitive measure entered into force on 22 July 2021 (GAFT imposed date), with expiry on 21 July 2026. A sunset review was initiated on 21 April 2026; the duty remains in force pending its outcome.