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

On 31 December 2025, China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs jointly published Announcement No. 91 of 2025, releasing the 2026 edition of the Catalogue of Dual-Use Items and Technologies Subject to Import and Export Licence Administration, effective 1 January 2026. The update replaces the 2025 catalogue and is issued under the Export Control Law of the PRC and the Regulations on Export Control of Dual-Use Items. Key additions to the export-licensing perimeter include samarium, gadolinium, and lutetium compounds — mid-to-heavy rare earths critical for permanent magnets (EV motors, wind turbines), phosphors (medical imaging, displays), and defence applications — requiring MOFCOM export licences for all covered shipments from 1 January 2026.

Cumhurbaşkanı Kararı No. 10790 (Resmi Gazete 31 December 2025, issue 33124 3rd reprint), in force 1 January 2026, restructures Türkiye's annual import-tariff architecture across 4,344 product lines from non-EU origins. The decree (i) introduces or expands additional customs duty (Ek Mali Yükümlülük / İlave Gümrük Vergisi) of 5%–48% on non-EU imports of iron and non-alloy steel, copper, aluminium, and base-metal household goods; (ii) introduces forward-looking import-surveillance measures across 172 products under 36 notifications, with reference-price floors that cap effective duty relief on under-valued shipments; (iii) updates duties on 324 Customs Tariff Statistical Positions across 21 chapters (219 HS lines raised by 2.4–15 percentage points; 8 lines under HS 7225/7228/8528/8529 raised by 3–14 points; 2 lines reduced by 6 points); (iv) opens duty-free tariff quotas for 35 industrial-product categories — including 27 battery / lithium-cell HS codes through 1 February 2027, 8m m² of plastic-treated textiles through 31 December 2026, and 40,725 tons of organic chemicals and aluminium sheets (16 February–31 December 2026); and (v) imposes a permit regime (6-month validity) on used and refurbished goods. EU and EU-Customs-Union origins remain exempt under A.TR preferential rules; the structural asymmetry vs non-EU partners is the core mechanism. Stated rationale (Ministry of Trade): support domestic production, prevent unfair competition, increase employment, reduce the current-account deficit.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/1 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4. Mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026. It imposes a reference-price-triggered import surveillance regime on photosensitive magnesium printing plates (GTİP 3701.30.00.00.21, USD 40/kg floor) and on kraft paper and kraft paperboard across several GTİP lines (4804.11.xx and 4804.21.xx, USD 0.7/kg and USD 1/kg floors respectively). Imports declared below these unit customs values require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") from the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance, valid six months.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/10 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 days later on 30 January 2026. It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on filtering and purifying machinery and filters for liquids and gases: water filtration/purification machinery (GTİP 8421.21.00.00.00), oil and fuel filters for internal combustion engines (8421.23.00.00.00), and air-intake and other filtration equipment (8421.31.00.90.00, 8421.39.25.90.00). All four lines require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") when the unit customs (CIF) value is below USD 10/kg, issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert lists Austria, Belgium, and Bosnia & Herzegovina among the principally affected exporting countries.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/14 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on motor vehicle safety seat belts under GTİP 8708.21.90.00.00. Whenever the declared unit customs value falls below the Ministry-set reference floor of USD 12/kg (gross weight), import is only permitted with a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General, which customs requires at declaration registration. Global Trade Alert lists China, Czechia and Estonia as the principally affected exporting countries.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/15 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on motor vehicle safety glass — windscreens, rear windows and other automotive safety glazing under GTİP 8708.22. Whenever the declared unit customs value falls below the Ministry-set reference floor of USD 6.5/kg (gross weight), import is only permitted with a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General, which customs requires at declaration registration. Global Trade Alert lists Belgium, China and Czechia as the principally affected exporting countries.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/17 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 days later on 30 January 2026. It imposed a forward-looking import surveillance regime on wheeled agricultural tractors and wheeled forestry tractors (GTİP 8703.21.10.90.19), with five power-based classifications each carrying its own unit customs-value reference price ranging from USD 5,078 to USD 44,890 per unit; imports declared below the applicable threshold require a gözetim belgesi (surveillance certificate) issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert logs China, Czechia and Germany as principally affected. A subsequent amendment (Tebliğ, Official Gazette 17 April 2026, Sayı 33219) removed wheeled agricultural/forestry tractors from the surveillance table entirely and replaced them with ATVs, effective 17 May 2026 — ending the tractor measure after roughly 3.5 months in force.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/18 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 days later on 30 January 2026. It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on air conditioning machines and split-system units: other air-conditioning units (GTİP 8415.10.90.00.19) below a unit customs value of USD 250/unit, other parts (GTİP 8415.90.00.90.09) below USD 150/unit, and split-system indoor units (GTİP 8415.90.00.90.12) below USD 100/unit require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert lists China as the principally affected exporting country.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/19 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) prismatic accumulators under GTİP 8507.60.00.00.22 (4.9V–400V) and 8507.60.00.00.23 (>400V) whenever the declared unit customs value falls below a reference floor of USD 12/kg and USD 15/kg (gross weight) respectively. Below those thresholds, import is only permitted with a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General (İthalat Genel Müdürlüğü), which the customs authority requires at declaration registration. Certificates are valid six months.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/2 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on chlorinated paraffins (GTİP 3824.99.92.00.34). Imports declared at or below a unit customs value of USD 2.5/kg gross weight require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. The measure is de jure origin-neutral; Global Trade Alert's trading-partner data for this intervention was not accessible without a paid account, so no specific target countries are asserted here.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/20 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on load cells (GTİP 9031.80.80.90.11, reference price USD 20,000/tonne) and other measuring/checking instruments (GTİP 9031.80.80.90.19, reference price USD 7,000/tonne) whenever the declared customs value falls below those thresholds. Below the floor, import is only permitted with a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General, required by customs at declaration registration and valid for six months.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/4 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on marble, travertine, alabaster and other worked building/monumental stone (GTİP 6802.21 and 6802.91.00.00.19). Imports declared at or below a unit customs value of USD 700/tonne require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert lists China, Greece and Iran as the principally affected exporting countries.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/5 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on woven wire cloth and netting of iron or steel welded at the intersections (GTİP 7314.31.00.00.00 and 7314.39.00.00.00). Imports declared at or below a unit customs value of USD 3.5/kg require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert lists China as the affected jurisdiction.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/6 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on vehicle suspension leaf springs (HS 7320 — springs and leaves for springs, of iron or steel; specifically heading 7320.10). Whenever the declared unit customs value falls below a Ministry-set reference price floor, import is only permitted with a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General, referenced at customs declaration. Global Trade Alert lists Belgium, China and Germany as the principally affected exporting countries.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/7 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on razors with non-replaceable blades (GTİP 8212.10.10.00.00), razor blades (8212.20.00.10.00) and razor blade blanks (8212.20.00.20.00). Imports declared at or below a unit customs value of USD 20/kg gross weight require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert lists Belgium, China and Czechia as affected jurisdictions, in alphabetical rather than ranked order.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/8 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on staples of iron or steel (GTİP 8305.20.00.21.00 — strip staples of the type used in office, upholstery and packaging staplers). Imports declared at or below a unit customs value of USD 1.70/kg gross weight require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert lists China as the principally affected exporting country.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/9 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on piston-type air compressors incorporating an air tank (GTİP 8414.80.22.90.11). Imports declared at or below a unit customs value of USD 90/unit require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert logs the measure as a discrete "certainly harmful" import-licensing intervention; its public affected-country list (Austria, Belgium, Brazil, …) is alphabetical rather than an exporter ranking, and the underlying Tebliğ is origin-neutral on its face.

Council Regulation (EU) 2025/2605, adopted 12 December 2025 and published in the Official Journal on 30 December 2025, replaces the Annex to Regulation (EU) 2021/2278, the EU's biennial autonomous Common Customs Tariff (CCT) suspension list for products "not produced in the Union in sufficient quantity." The update adds new full and partial duty suspensions (down to 0%) for battery-production chemical inputs — including lithium metal, lithium hydroxide monohydrate and lithium carbonate, several rare-earth and yttrium/scandium compounds, cobalt oxalate, and lithium hexafluorophosphate (electrolyte salt, rated at 2.7% rather than 0%) — with a mandatory review clause for the battery-related lines by 31 December 2026. It also renews review dates for existing suspensions and removes entries no longer judged to be in the Union's economic interest. The regulation entered into force on publication but applies from 1 January 2026.

The Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) issued Notification No. 02/2025-Customs (SG) dated 30 December 2025, imposing a definitive three-year safeguard duty on imports of "Non-Alloy and Alloy Steel Flat Products" classified under Customs Tariff headings 7208, 7209, 7210, 7211, 7212, 7225 and 7226 (hot-rolled coils/sheets/plates, hot-rolled plate-mill plates, cold-rolled coils/sheets, metallic coated sheets including galvanneal and aluminium-zinc coated, and colour-coated coils/sheets). Duty rates are graduated: 12% ad valorem for 21 April 2025 – 20 April 2026, 11.5% for 21 April 2026 – 20 April 2027, and 11% for 21 April 2027 – 20 April 2028. The notification implements the final findings of the Director General (Trade Remedies) (DGTR notification 22/01/2024-DGTR dated 16 August 2025) which concluded that imports of subject goods rose from 2.293 mt in FY 2021-22 to 6.612 mt during the period of investigation, causing serious injury and threat of serious injury to the domestic industry. The definitive measure supersedes the provisional 200-day safeguard duty imposed at 12% ad valorem from 21 April 2025 by Notification 01/2025-Customs (SG); no safeguard duty applies for the interim period between expiry of the provisional duty (early November 2025) and the day preceding Gazette publication of the definitive notification. Imports from developing-country WTO members are exempt unless the share of any individual developing country exceeds 3% of total imports of the subject goods, or the collective share of developing countries exceeding 3% individually exceeds 9% — the China and Vietnam carve-outs from this exemption preserve full applicability of the duty to the dominant cheap-import sources.

At its 30 December 2025 regular session, Iraq's Council of Ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani, approved two additional customs duties on imports from all countries of origin: a 40% additional duty on medical and industrial oxygen (gaseous and liquid forms), in effect for four years, and a 30% additional duty on imported yogurt (laban rayeb) and liquid milk. Both measures were framed as protecting domestic pharmaceutical/ industrial-gas production and local dairy manufacturing respectively, and take effect 120 days after issuance (29 April 2026) to give importers an adjustment window. Global Trade Alert logs the dairy duty as principally affecting Germany, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye as leading supplier origins, though the measure itself is non-discriminatory (applies to all origins).

Iraq's Council of Ministers Decision No. 957 of 2025 (approved late 2025) revises the country's full customs tariff schedule — roughly 16,400 tariff lines across 99 HS chapters — into rate brackets from 0.5% to 30%, effective 1 January 2026 at all federal ports. Within that reform, the General Customs Authority singled out hybrid and electric vehicles (model year 2025 and newer) — previously exempt to encourage adoption — for a new 15% import duty, alongside a matching 15% duty on gold and other goods classed as non-essential/luxury. Global Trade Alert logs Austria, Canada and China as the leading supplier-origin countries affected, though the duty applies non-discriminately to all countries of origin.

The Türkiye Ministry of Trade's Imports General Directorate published Communiqué No. 2025/44 in Resmî Gazete on 27 December 2025, imposing a definitive flat-rate 3.95% ad valorem anti-dumping duty on imports of cold-rolled stainless flat steel (CRSS) originating in the People's Republic of China, covering 22 customs-tariff positions under HS headings 7219 and 7220. The duty runs for five years from the date of publication (sunset 27 December 2030). The parallel investigation track into Indonesian-origin CRSS was closed without measures — imports from Indonesia were determined to be at a negligible dumping margin and caused no material injury to the domestic industry. The investigation (initiated as Notice 2024/20, June 2024) was petitioned by the Turkish stainless-steel producer consortium (Posco Assan Stainless TST, Sandvik Karbosan, and ÇağdaşÇelik).

On 24 December 2025 the Collegium (Board) of the Eurasian Economic Commission adopted Decision No. 137, splitting five broad EAEU Common Customs Tariff commodity codes (covering magnesium oxide, paints, leather/textile-treatment preparations and SBS block copolymer) into narrower codes limited to leather-footwear-industry end use, and assigning several of the new codes a "109С" zero import-duty rate (versus a standard 5-6.5% MFN rate for the same goods in other end uses) running through 31 December 2028. The Collegium decision was gated to take effect only once the EEC Council's parallel Decision No. 13 (signed 30 January 2026, published 26 February 2026) on the same tariff-nomenclature and chemical-industry line items entered into force; both took effect together on 8 March 2026 across all five EAEU member states (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan).

Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 2089 of 22 December 2025 sets the tariff quota for the export of wheat, meslin, barley, and corn from Russia to countries outside the Eurasian Economic Union at 20 million tonnes, effective from 15 February to 30 June 2026. The quota for rye exports is set at zero tonnes. Within the quota, exports remain subject to Russia's floating in-quota grain export duty (formula-driven, indexed to global wheat reference prices); shipments outside the quota face a duty of 50% of customs value, but not less than €100 per tonne. Humanitarian-aid shipments authorised by separate government decisions are exempt. The H1 2026 cap roughly doubles the 10.6-Mt H1 2025 quota and is calibrated to a record 137-Mt 2025/26 Russian grain harvest.

Government Resolution No. 2076 of 19 December 2025 replaces Russia's standing ban on husked rice and rice-paddy exports (in force July 2022 – 31 December 2025) with a 200,000-tonne tariff-rate quota for calendar year 2026. Within the quota, exports to countries outside the Eurasian Economic Union face a 0% duty; shipments above the cap are charged 50% of customs value. The switch from an outright ban to a managed quota reflects Russia's view that domestic rice production now fully covers internal-market needs and that a quota-based mechanism can stimulate exports while preserving a price-stabilisation backstop.

The European Commission initiated an anti-dumping investigation on 19 December 2025 (Case AD747, notice published in OJ C/2025/6744) into imports of sodium benzoate (CN code ex 2916 31 00, CUS 0023120-9, CAS 532-32-1) originating in China, following a complaint from Lanxess Chemical B.V. filed on 10 November 2025. The Commission first made imports subject to customs registration via Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/366 of 19 February 2026. On 27 July 2026 the Commission adopted Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1854, published 28 July 2026, imposing provisional antidumping duties ranging from 57.6% to 116.4% by exporter. The measure remains provisional pending the investigation's final outcome.

The European Commission initiated an anti-dumping investigation on 19 December 2025 (Case AD748, notice published in OJ C/2025/6741) into imports of benzyl alcohol (CN code 2906 21 00, CAS 100-51-6) originating in China, following a complaint from EU producers LANXESS Deutschland GmbH, LANXESS Chemical B.V. and Vynova Advanced Organics Maastricht B.V. The Commission first made imports subject to customs registration via Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/362 of 17 February 2026, preserving the option to apply duties retroactively. On 28-29 July 2026 the Commission published a provisional antidumping duty on Chinese benzyl alcohol, reported by trade press to be in the 52.6%-71.2% range pending independent confirmation of the exact implementing regulation and per-exporter rates. The measure remains provisional pending the investigation's final outcome, expected within the statutory deadline.

India's DGFT issued Notification No. 50/2025-26 on 18 December 2025 (Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3(ii)), inserting a new Policy Condition No. 08 under Chapter 29 of ITC (HS) 2022, Schedule-I (Import Policy). Imports of diluted Potassium Clavulanate below a CIF value of USD 77/kg, Potassium Clavulanate (KGA) below USD 180/kg, and specified clavulanic-acid-manufacture intermediates below USD 92/kg are reclassified from "Free" to "Restricted," requiring a DGFT import authorisation before Customs clearance. The measure took immediate effect and runs until 30 November 2026. It is aimed at countering low-priced Chinese potassium-clavulanate exports and protecting Indian bulk-drug fermentation capacity (Aurobindo Pharma and other domestic API makers) amid a global potassium-clavulanate supply glut.

The Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) issued Notification No. 35/2025-Customs (ADD) dated 18 December 2025, imposing a definitive five-year anti-dumping duty on imports of Cold Rolled Non-Oriented Electrical Steel (CRNO) originating in or exported from the People's Republic of China, falling under tariff headings 7210, 7225 and 7226 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act 1975. Duty rates are specific: USD 223.82 per metric tonne for Wuhan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., Baosteel Zhanjiang Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., and Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., and USD 414.92 per metric tonne for all other Chinese producers/exporters. The measure implements the DGTR final findings F.No. 06/32/2024-DGTR dated 19 September 2025 (JSW Steel and Tata Steel principal domestic complainants), which found dumping margins and material injury to the Indian domestic industry. Cold-rolled fully hardened silicon electrical steel (CRFH), the upstream feedstock used to produce CRNO, is explicitly excluded from the duty. CRNO is a critical input for electric motors, transformers, generators and EV traction motors — its dumping into India underpinned a complaint from integrated mills (JSW, Tata) competing against Chinese supply at margins below construction-cost-plus-reasonable-profit benchmarks.

Morocco's Loi de Finances n° 50-25 for fiscal year 2026, promulgated by Dahir n° 1-25-67 of 10 December 2025 and published in Bulletin Officiel n° 7465 bis of 16 December 2025, sets the FY2026 customs-tariff schedule (continuing the EU Common External Tariff alignment process at 2.5%/17.5%/40% tiers with sector-specific input reductions), amends the fiscal regimes for Zones d'Accélération Industrielle and Casablanca Finance City, and delivers the 2026 tranche of the multi-year IS (corporate-tax) rate-convergence schedule under Framework Law n° 69-19. The law also extends green-investment fiscal accelerators aligned with the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and the EU-Morocco Strategic Partnership on Sustainable Raw Materials Value Chains, and contains phosphate-sector fiscal provisions affecting OCP Group's DAP/MAP/TSP export treatment. Entry into force: 1 January 2026.

On 9 December 2025, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and General Administration of Customs jointly issued Announcement No. 79 of 2025, reinstating an export-licence management system for ~300 HS-coded steel products effective 1 January 2026. Exporters must obtain a per-contract licence supported by a manufacturer-issued product quality inspection certificate; licences are issued by MOFCOM (for centrally-administered SOEs) and provincial / sub-provincial commerce departments. The regime is the first reinstatement of Chinese steel-export licensing in 16 years (since 2009) and applies the export-licensing instrument — previously used for critical minerals and dual-use goods — to a non-critical bulk commodity for the first time.

Decision No. 530 of 2025 of Egypt's Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade renews, for a further one-year period from the expiry of the prior decision, an export duty of EGP 9,000 (~US$189) per metric ton on scrap and waste of stainless-steel alloys (HS 7204.21), implemented via Egyptian Customs Tariff Circular No. 67/2025. Shipments destined for free zones within Egypt are excluded from the duty. The stated rationale is to regulate exports of what the ministry classifies as a strategic input and preserve domestic feedstock supply for Egypt's steel industry.

Pakistan's Directorate General of Customs Valuation (Karachi), acting under the Federal Board of Revenue, issued Valuation Ruling No. 2029/2025 on 3 December 2025, fixing new minimum customs values for imports of eleven aroma and aromatic chemicals used in perfumes and cosmetics — Citronellol, Coumarin, Dihydro Myrcenol, Eugenol, Geraniol, Linalool, Musk Ambrette, Sandela, Eucalyptus Oil, Peppermint Oil, and Vanillin — sourced primarily from China. The ruling was triggered by representations from domestic importer M/s Franscent (Pvt.) Ltd., which alleged systematic under-invoicing of these products, and was determined under Section 25(9) read with Sections 25(5) and 25(6) of the Customs Act, 1969, after the Directorate found transaction-value and comparable-goods valuation methods unworkable due to sparse and inconsistent import data. Clearance Collectorates were instructed to enforce accurate CAS-number and chemical-identity declarations to prevent misclassification against the new benchmark values.

South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance announced its 2026 annual quota-tariff (할당관세) and flexible-tariff (탄력관세) operating plan on 2 December 2025, formalized via Presidential Decree No. 35944 (issued 30 December 2025, effective 1 January 2026) under Article 71 of the Customs Act. The plan sets reduced basic-tariff rates (0-3%, down from the 3% base rate) on roughly 58 imported goods through 31 December 2026, including LNG, LPG, and crude oil for LPG manufacturing (household heating relief), and newly adds steel and automotive-sector items exposed to US tariff measures plus recycling feedstock for critical-mineral supply-chain stabilization. A supplementary Presidential Decree No. 36237 (3 April 2026) later expanded crude-oil tariff-rate-quota eligibility to restructured petrochemical firms.

President Claudia Sheinbaum signed a comprehensive reform to Mexico's Customs Law (Ley Aduanera) published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 19 November 2025, entering into force 1 January 2026. The decree formally recognises the Agencia Nacional de Aduanas de México (ANAM) as the autonomous customs authority with expanded inspection and fiscalisation powers, creates a new inter-secretarial Consejo Aduanero with binding decisional authority over customs-agent licensing, and mandates real-time electronic traceability and video-surveillance at all recintos fiscales. The reform is Mexico's most comprehensive statutory overhaul of its customs-administration architecture in over a decade, directly conditioning USMCA-origin compliance infrastructure for approximately US$800 billion in annual MX-US trade and over 3,200 IMMEX-registered nearshoring operators.

Iraq's Council of Ministers approved a 25% customs duty on imported tomato paste at its 45th regular session on 13 November 2025, citing protection of domestic national products under Law No. 11 of 2011 (as amended). The duty runs for four years without reduction and took effect four months after issuance (13 March 2026), applying non-discriminately to all countries of origin. Global Trade Alert flags China and Turkiye as the leading supplier countries by import volume, though the measure does not name specific target countries.

On 13 November 2025, the United States and the Republic of Korea released a Joint Fact Sheet reaffirming the July 2025 announcement of the Korea Strategic Trade and Investment Deal — the first standalone US-Korea trade-and-investment agreement since the 2012 KORUS FTA. USTR issued the implementing Federal Register notice (90 FR 55964, Notice 2025-21940) on 3 December 2025, effective 4 December 2025, with retroactive HTSUS application to 1 November 2025 for autos and auto parts and to 14 November 2025 for reciprocal-tariff goods, timber, lumber, derivatives, and certain aircraft and aircraft parts. On the US tariff side: (i) the country-specific IEEPA reciprocal tariff on Korean originating goods is set at the higher of the KORUS FTA / MFN rate or 15% (parallel to the Japan and EU framework deals); (ii) the Section 232 tariffs on autos, auto parts, timber, lumber and wood derivatives are reduced to 15% (no incremental duty when the pre-existing KORUS/MFN rate already meets or exceeds 15%); (iii) Korean exports of qualifying goods on the Potential Tariff Adjustments for Aligned Partners (PTAAP) list are exempt from reciprocal tariffs (covering generic pharmaceuticals and unavailable natural resources); (iv) Section 232 pharmaceuticals capped at 15%; semiconductors granted MFN-style "no less favourable" treatment in any future sectoral deal. On the investment side, Korea commits to a USD 350bn package: USD 150bn into US shipbuilding ("Approved Investments") plus USD 200bn into US strategic industries via a separate Strategic Investments MOU, with annual currency-funding cap of USD 20bn. Non-tariff commitments include streamlined US biotech approvals on the Korean side, US meat and cheese market access, fair treatment for US digital services, removal of Korea's 50,000-unit cap on US vehicles meeting FMVSS, and joint WTO support for the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions.

On 10 November 2025, China's Ministry of Commerce and four other departments issued Announcement No. 73 of 2025, adjusting the "Catalogue of Precursor Chemicals for Export to Specific Countries (Regions)" and adding the United States, Canada and Mexico to the "Specific Countries (Regions) Directory" under the Interim Provisions on the Management of Exports of Precursor Chemicals to Specific Countries (Regions). Exporters must now apply for a license before shipping 13 newly listed categories of precursor chemicals (used in illicit fentanyl and other synthetic-drug manufacture) to these three countries; exports of the same chemicals to other destinations remain unrestricted. The measure took effect the same day it was announced.

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and General Administration of Customs (GAC) issued Announcement No. 72 (2025) on November 9, 2025, suspending Article 2 of Announcement No. 46 (2024) — the provision that had imposed a categorical export ban on gallium, germanium, antimony, superhard materials, and graphite dual-use items destined for the United States. The suspension is valid until November 27, 2026, reverting these exports to China's standard dual-use licensing framework for that period. Article 1 of Announcement No. 46 — prohibiting re-exports to US military end-users regardless of routing — remains fully in force. The measure followed bilateral US-China trade consultations and signals a conditional de-escalation window within China's established critical-minerals counter-strike posture.

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and General Administration of Customs (GAC) issued Announcement No. 70 (2025) on November 7, 2025, suspending for one year the package of rare-earth export-control measures announced on October 9, 2025 (Announcements Nos. 55, 56, 57, 58, 61, 62). The suspended measures include the licensing regime on medium- and heavy-rare-earth elements, rare-earth processing equipment and technologies, lithium-battery and synthetic-graphite anode materials, superhard materials, and — most significantly — the extraterritorial "0.1% content" rule of Announcement No. 61 that asserted licence jurisdiction over foreign-made products containing Chinese-origin controlled rare earths. The gazette text fixes the window explicitly: "自即日起至2026年11月10日" (from the date of issue until November 10, 2026). This is the rare-earth leg of the post-Busan US-China truce; the dual-use leg (gallium, germanium, antimony, graphite) was suspended two days later by the separate Announcement No. 72 (2025), which runs to November 27, 2026. The two instruments create a two-step expiry cliff in November 2026.

Pakistan's Directorate General of Customs Valuation (Karachi), acting under the Federal Board of Revenue, issued Valuation Ruling No. 2023/2025 on 5 November 2025 (C.No. Misc/12/2025-I/1073), fixing new minimum customs values under Section 25A of the Customs Act, 1969 for imported Zirconium Silicate (PCT 2530.9020): US$2.084/kg (C&F) for China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam-origin shipments, and US$2.200/kg for Europe/USA-origin shipments. The ruling followed a finding that declared import values — as low as US$0.35/kg from China against a China/Europe international benchmark of US$1.70-1.82/kg for the constituent raw material (Zircon Sand) — were substantially below prevailing international market prices, and names China as the "global benchmark" origin used to set the floor.

Following an anti-dumping investigation initiated 6 February 2025 (petition by domestic producer CSC Steel Sdn Bhd) and an affirmative preliminary determination imposing provisional duties from 5 July 2025, Malaysia's Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) issued an affirmative final determination and imposed DEFINITIVE anti-dumping duties on imports of galvanised iron/steel coils and sheets (flat-rolled products of alloy or non-alloy steel, plated or coated with zinc via the hot-dip process) originating in or exported from China, South Korea and Vietnam. The measure runs for five years, 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2030, and is enforced by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department under the Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties Act 1993 and its 1994 Regulations. Definitive duty rates: China 5.60%-26.80%; South Korea 2.21%-31.47%; Vietnam -14.17% (de minimis/negative for some exporters) to 57.90%.

At the APEC Busan summit on 30 October 2025, Presidents Trump and Xi reached the "Economic and Trade Arrangement Between the United States and the People's Republic of China," subsequently implemented on the US side by the executive order "Modifying Reciprocal Tariff Rates Consistent with the Economic and Trade Arrangement" (issued 4 November 2025; effective 12:01 am EST on 10 November 2025; published in the Federal Register on 7 November 2025 as 90 FR 50729 / 2025-19826) and on the Chinese side by a series of MOFCOM and State Council Tariff Commission announcements (notably MOFCOM 2025 No. 90 of 8–9 November 2025). The arrangement is structurally parallel to the already-filed US-Japan, US-Korea and US-Taiwan framework deals but uniquely material because it freezes the highest-stakes bilateral tariff and export-control confrontation of the post-2024 reset. Core US commitments: (i) reciprocal-tariff "additional ad valorem rate of duty" on PRC-origin goods reduced from a prior 20% IEEPA-fentanyl + 10% IEEPA-reciprocal stack to a 10% rate (i.e., the prior 24% / 34% scheduled escalation is suspended), extended through 10 November 2026; (ii) US BIS suspends the so-called "affiliates rule" expanding entity-list controls to majority-owned subsidiaries of listed Chinese firms; (iii) USTR pauses Section 301 maritime / shipbuilding / logistics countermeasures against Chinese vessels for one year. Core PRC commitments: (i) MOFCOM suspends for one year (until 10 November 2026) the 9 October 2025 extraterritorial rare-earth export-control package — including controls on REE processing equipment, lithium-battery manufacturing equipment, and superhard materials; (ii) PRC suspends retaliatory tariffs on a broad swath of US agricultural products through 31 December 2026; (iii) commitment to purchase ≥25 million metric tonnes of US soybeans annually in 2026-2028 and to resume sorghum and log imports; (iv) suspension of MOFCOM antitrust and "unreliable-entity" probes against named US semiconductor and chip-equipment companies; (v) cooperation on fentanyl precursor enforcement. The arrangement does not repeal underlying authorities (IEEPA tariffs, MOFCOM export-control list, Entity List) — it is a calibrated mutual freeze with a one-year sunset and quarterly review checkpoints.

India's CBIC, via Notification No. 46/2025-Customs dated 29 October 2025 (issued under Section 25(1) of the Customs Act 1962 and Section 124 of the Finance Act 2021), reinstated a combined 30% import duty on yellow peas (Tariff item 0713 10 10) — 10% Basic Customs Duty plus 20% Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) — ending the duty-free import window that had been in place since December 2023. The new rates apply to consignments with a Bill of Lading issued on or after 1 November 2025. A companion Notification No. 47/2025-Customs (same date) grandfathers the prior nil-duty treatment for shipments with a Bill of Lading issued on or before 31 October 2025. The measure is aimed at containing pulse imports to support domestic prices and pulse growers ahead of India's rabi (winter pulse) harvest.

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.

China's Ministry of Finance, General Administration of Customs and State Taxation Administration jointly issued Announcement 2025 No. 10, restructuring VAT refund support across the power-generation sector effective 1 November 2025. Offshore wind power producers gain a new 50% immediate VAT refund running through 31 December 2027, while the prior immediate-refund policy for onshore wind power (in force since 2015 under Cai Shui [2015] No. 74) is repealed outright. Nuclear plants approved but not yet commercially operating as of 31 October 2025 receive a 50% collected-then-refunded VAT rebate for ten years from first commercial operation, but nuclear projects approved after 1 November 2025 receive no VAT refund at all. The measure reallocates state fiscal support within China's power sector toward offshore wind and legacy-pipeline nuclear capacity while withdrawing it from onshore wind and future nuclear approvals.

Argentina's Ministry of Economy issued Resolution 1553/2025 (Boletín Oficial, 14 October 2025) approving Andes Corporación Minera SA's ("ACM," the project vehicle for the McEwen Copper-led Los Azules deposit in San Juan province) adhesion to the Régimen de Incentivo para Grandes Inversiones (RIGI) under Law 27.742. The resolution locks in RIGI's 30-year tax, customs and FX stability package — including customs-duty exemption on capital-goods imports, a reduced corporate tax rate and phased FX-repatriation relief — for a declared total investment of USD 2.672 billion (USD 2.35bn of computable assets). ACM's accession dates to 25 September 2025; the company must complete 40% of the minimum qualifying investment within two years and reach the full minimum by 31 December 2027. This is the second mining project (after Rio Tinto's Rincón lithium plant) and the first copper project approved under RIGI, positioning Los Azules as the flagship test case for Argentina's bid to become a significant Western-aligned copper supplier outside Chile and Peru.

On 14 October 2025 the Board (Collegium) of the Eurasian Economic Commission adopted Decision No. 96 imposing five-year definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of titanium dioxide pigment (80%+ TiO2 dry-weight content, HS 3206 11 000 0) originating in China and entering the EAEU customs territory (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan). Duty rates are 14.27% for the LB Group (Henan Billions / Lomon Billions and named subsidiaries) and 16.25% for Shandong Dawn Titanium Industry and all other Chinese producers. Price undertakings were approved for the LB Group and Shandong Dawn Titanium, exempting compliant volumes from duty. The decision entered into force 16 November 2025, 30 days after official publication, following an investigation initiated 17 August 2023.

India's DGFT issued Notification No. 41/2025-26 on 10 October 2025, inserting a new import policy condition under Chapter 29 of ITC (HS) 2022, Schedule-I (Import Policy) for Sulfadiazine API (ITC-HS codes 29359013 and 29359090). Imports with a declared CIF value below Rs. 1,774 per kilogram are reclassified from "Free" to "Restricted," requiring a DGFT import authorisation before Customs clearance. The measure took immediate effect and runs until 30 September 2026, aimed at curbing low-priced imports — Global Trade Alert records China, France and Israel among the affected exporters — while protecting domestic API manufacturers.

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and General Administration of Customs (GAC) jointly issued Announcement No. 58 of 2025 on 9 October 2025, adding high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries (cells and packs, >=300 Wh/kg), artificial graphite anode materials, related production equipment, and key manufacturing technologies to the dual-use export control list under licence requirement. The controls were scheduled to take effect 8 November 2025 but were suspended the day before via Announcement No. 70 (2025), which deferred entry-into-force until 10 November 2026 in the context of the US-China Busan economic-trade arrangement. Controls remain legislatively adopted and will become operative unless the suspension is renewed or withdrawn.