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

On 2026-01-26 the US Department of Commerce initiated antidumping (LTFV) and countervailing duty investigations covering van-type trailers and subassemblies thereof from Canada, China, and Mexico, following a petition filed 2025-11-20 by the American Trailer Manufacturers Coalition (Great Dane, Stoughton Trailers, Wabash National). On 2026-06-15 Commerce issued its preliminary affirmative LTFV determination for China, setting a preliminary antidumping duty rate of 130.76% on Chinese van-type trailer imports, effective on publication and triggering CBP duty collection at the border. Companion countervailing-duty and Canada/Mexico proceedings are tracked separately.

On 2026-01-26 the US Department of Commerce initiated countervailing duty (anti-subsidy) investigations covering van-type trailers and subassemblies thereof from Canada, China, and Mexico, companion to the antidumping investigation covering the same product and countries. On 2026-06-05 Commerce published preliminary affirmative CVD determinations: China received an 82.37% subsidy rate for CIMC Baowell Industries/Qingdao CIMC Reefer Trailer and all other exporters, and a 128.78% adverse-inference rate for non-responsive companies; Mexico received rates of 1.90-1.95% for cooperating respondents (Hyundai de Mexico, Utility Trailer Manufacturing de México) and a 62.67% adverse-inference rate for five non-responsive companies. The Canada CVD investigation was terminated on 2026-05-27 after the petitioner withdrew that portion of the petition. Cash deposits at the preliminary rates began on Federal Register publication; final CVD determinations are scheduled for 2026-08-24 (China) and 2026-10-13 (Mexico).

On 24 September 2025 the Federal Railroad Administration published in the Federal Register a withdrawal-and-reissue of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the FY2024-2025 National Railroad Partnership Program / Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program for projects off the Northeast Corridor (FSP-National), making up to USD 5,070,784,989 available for competitive intercity passenger-rail capital awards, including roughly USD 2.4bn de-obligated from the California High-Speed Rail project. Global Trade Alert logs the NOFO as a public-procurement-localisation intervention because FRA capital-assistance grants carry standing Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) domestic-content and final-assembly requirements. The reissue also withdrew DEI- and climate-related selection criteria attached to the prior Biden-era version of the NOFO. Applications were due 7 January 2026.

The US Department of Commerce initiated a countervailing-duty (CVD) investigation of certain freight rail couplers and parts thereof from India (case C-533-941) on 18 August 2025, covering the period of investigation 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2025. On 27 February 2026 Commerce issued a preliminary affirmative determination, published in the Federal Register 3 March 2026, finding countervailable subsidy rates of 6.02% for Kharagpur Metal Reforming Industries, 5.47% for Texmaco Rail & Engineering, and 5.90% for all other Indian producers/exporters; Jupiter Wagons and Bhilai Engineering Corporation were assigned a 64.27% adverse-facts-available rate after failing to respond to Commerce's quantity-and-value questionnaire. Commerce aligned the CVD final determination with the companion antidumping final determination. 2024 US imports of the subject product totaled roughly $5.6 million (2.07 million kg).

The US Department of Commerce initiated less-than-fair-value investigations of certain freight rail couplers and parts thereof from the Czech Republic (case A-851-806) and India (case A-533-940) on 12 August 2025, covering the period of investigation 1 July 2024 - 30 June 2025. On 6 May 2026 Commerce issued preliminary affirmative determinations, finding dumping margins of 60.05% for the Czech Republic and 5.32% for India, and imposed provisional antidumping cash-deposit requirements at those rates effective the same date; the final determination was postponed. A parallel preliminary affirmative countervailing-duty determination for India was published 3 March 2026 (case C-533-941). Commerce postponed the original preliminary deadline (initially due 9 March 2026) via a 23 February 2026 notice citing a lapse-in-appropriations tolling of deadlines and an EDIS filing backlog.

The CHIPS and Science Act (Public Law 117-167), signed into law by President Biden on 9 August 2022, appropriated $52.7 billion in direct semiconductor industry support: $39B in manufacturing incentives administered by the Commerce Department, $13.2B for R&D and workforce, and $0.5B for legacy-chip and supply-chain programs. It also created an Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (Section 48D) — a 25% refundable investment tax credit on qualified semiconductor manufacturing property. The law included a "guardrails" clause prohibiting recipients from expanding advanced-node capacity in countries of concern (most prominently China) for 10 years following award.