Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2663 actions· ✨ 89 recent

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 10 November 2025 the Mexican government published a decree in the Diario Oficial de la Federación (DOF) modifying the Tarifa de la Ley de los Impuestos Generales de Importación y de Exportación (LIGIE) to raise most-favoured-nation import tariffs on sugar and sugar-derivative products (raw, refined, liquid and invert sugar, and related high-sugar-content goods across roughly eight six-digit tariff subheadings) to between 156% and 210.44% ad valorem, replacing the prior specific-duty regime of USD 0.33–0.39 per kilogram. The decree entered into force 11 November 2025, the day after publication, and applies to imports from WTO members that lack a preferential trade agreement with Mexico. The Secretaría de Economía framed the increase as protection for the domestic sugarcane agro-industry against a national oversupply and falling international reference prices.

Decreto 685/2025, signed by President Javier Milei with Chief of Cabinet Guillermo Francos and Economy Minister Luis Caputo, cuts Argentina's Derecho de Exportación (DEX) rate to 0% on 145 meat and live-animal products (98 six-digit NCM codes) — bovine, poultry, porcine, caprine, and ovine — from the previously applicable 5% rate. Published in the Boletín Oficial on 23 September 2025 and effective 24 September, the measure runs through 31 October 2025. Exporters must liquidate at least 90% of foreign-exchange proceeds within three business days of shipping- permit authorization or lose the 0% rate retroactively. Government and press estimates put the anticipated foreign-exchange liquidation impact at USD 800M-1.2B over the window, against an estimated USD 150-200M fiscal cost in foregone export-duty revenue.

Decree 38/2025 reduces Argentina's agricultural export duties (retenciones) across all major grains and oilseeds effective January 27, 2025, through June 30, 2025. Soybean duties fall from 33% to 26%, soy products from 31% to 24.5%, wheat/maize/barley/sorghum from 12% to 9.5%, and sunflower seed from 7% to 5.5%; regional-economy commodities including sugar, cotton, and rice receive a permanent zero-duty rate. The measures are designed to accelerate foreign exchange liquidation by improving exporter margins under the Milei administration's macroeconomic stabilisation program, and represent the most market-significant single Argentine agricultural trade action of 2025-Q1.