Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2665 actions· ✨ 90 recent

Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber executive committee (GECEX) issued Resolution No. 794 on 25 September 2025, published in the Diário Oficial da União on 26 September 2025, revoking Ex-Tarifário duty exemptions on six specific tariff-line items spanning three prior ex-tarifário annexes: one Information Technology/Telecommunications line (NCM 9032.89.82, Ex 043, under Resolução Gecex 323/2022), and five Capital Goods lines covering mining-boring machinery (NCM 8430.41.20, Ex 015/025/050, under Resolução Gecex 311/2022), machine-tools for stone/ceramics working (NCM 8464.10.00, Ex 059), industrial washing/cleaning machinery parts (NCM 8450.90.10, Ex 029/032/033) and refrigeration-equipment parts (NCM 8418.99.00, Ex 048) (all under Resolução Gecex 322/2022). The affected lines revert from the reduced Ex-Tarifário rate (typically 0%) to Brazil's standard Mercosur Common External Tariff (TEC) rate, effective 60 days after publication (25 November 2025) — the date Global Trade Alert records as implementation.

The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated five entities and one individual based in Iran, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China for procuring CNC (computer numerical control) machine tools on behalf of Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA), the state-owned defense-ministry subsidiary that builds Iran's Ababil-series military UAVs used by the IRGC. Designated parties include Javad Alizadeh Hoshyar, CEO of Iran-based Control Afzar Tabriz Co Ltd, which used Hong Kong-based Clifton Trading Limited as an intermediary to obscure CNC-machine shipments to HESA, and Taiwan-based Mecatron Machinery Co Ltd and Joemars Machinery and Electric Industrial Co Ltd, which shipped CNC machines toward Iran through similar concealment channels. The action was taken pursuant to National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 (NSPM-2), which directs that Iran be denied conventional and asymmetric weapons capabilities. All designated parties' US property and interests are blocked and US persons are generally barred from transacting with them.

On 18 July 2025 the Council of the European Union adopted Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1469, implementing Article 8a(1) of Regulation (EC) No 765/2006, adding eight Belarusian entities to the Annex I asset-freeze list for supporting Belarus's military-industrial complex. The listed entities — State-owned Foreign Trade Unitary Enterprise Belvneshpromservice, OKB TSP Scientific Production LLC, KB Unmanned Helicopters (UAVHeli), Legmash Plant OJSC, Research and Production Unitary Enterprise "Scientific and Technical Center 'LEMT' BelOMO", Laser Devices and Technologies LLC, JSC Vistan, and Rukhservomotor LLC — span defence-export trading, artillery-shell and MLRS-rocket manufacture, unmanned military aircraft, optical weapon sights, and dual-use CNC machine tools supplied to Russian defence-related enterprises. Funds and economic resources belonging to the listed entities are frozen within the EU and the EU prohibition on making resources available to them applies with effect from 19 July 2025 (date of publication in the Official Journal). The listing was adopted the same day as the EU's 18th Russia sanctions package, as a parallel complementary measure under the separate Belarus sanctions regime.

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) overhauled the catch-all export-control framework under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (FEFTA) — the first comprehensive review of Japan's catch-all controls in 12 years (since 2013). Cabinet decisions were taken on 25 March 2025 and 4 April 2025 with METI's consolidated announcement on 9 April 2025; the amended Cabinet Order entered into force on 9 October 2025. The reform (i) splits catch-all-controlled items into "core items" (high dual-use risk, including certain semiconductors and machine tools) and a general catch-all tier, (ii) adds a new end-user requirement alongside the existing end-use requirement and extends both from UN-arms-embargo countries only to "general countries" (everywhere outside Group A), materially expanding the perimeter of items requiring METI export licences for general-country end-users including China, and (iii) introduces an "informed" condition for exports to Group A countries — once METI notifies an exporter of a defined risk pattern, a Group A export becomes licence-required, addressing transit-export-circumvention to Russia. Structurally distinct from the 23-category equipment-specific 2023 amendment (2023-03-31-japan-meti-semi-equipment-export-controls); this is the underlying horizontal catch-all reform and brings Japan's framework closer to US BIS EAR catch-all controls.