Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2662 actions· ✨ 89 recent

China's Ministry of Commerce issued Announcement No. 26 of 2026 on June 24, 2026, establishing a formal reporting and handling system for violations of export controls on strategic minerals and dual-use items, effective July 1, 2026. The mechanism opens two reporting channels — a dedicated hotline (010-12369) and an online portal (aqygzj.mofcom.gov.cn) — through which any organisation or individual may report suspected violations including unauthorised exports, circumvention via third-country re-routing, illegal technology transfers, and provision of services to sanctioned exporters. Anonymous reports are accepted; real-name reporters may qualify for monetary rewards; voluntary self-disclosure is treated as a mitigating factor in penalty determination. Service providers including freight forwarders and financial institutions face mandatory reporting obligations when they discover suspected violations in the course of business.

Executive Order 14413, signed 22 June 2026, directs a national quantum-computing industrial-policy push: the QC-ADDS effort to deliver large-scale quantum computers to Department of Energy facilities for application development and discovery science, a National Center for Quantum Computing Assessment, an expanded Quantum Information Science and Technology Counterintelligence Protection Team, and a network of National QIST Workforce Development Institutes. It sets staged deadlines (30/60/90/120/180 days) for agency policy alignment, sensor-project identification, QC-ADDS technical specifications, and workforce/supply-chain plans, plus a September 2028 target for next-generation quantum-sensor deployment. Section 9 directs harmonisation of research-security and export-control policy with allies to prevent "countries of concern" from acquiring critical quantum technologies, but the order does not itself impose any new export-control rule. No dollar figures are specified.

On June 17, 2026, BIS announced a $36,184,680 civil penalty settlement with Robert Bosch GmbH (Stuttgart, Germany) — the largest-ever BIS enforcement penalty against a non-US company for Foreign Direct Product Rule (FDPR) violations. Between September 16, 2020 and September 26, 2024, Bosch exported approximately $72.4 million in MEMS sensor products and automotive software from abroad to Huawei Technologies and its Entity List affiliates without the required BIS license. Bosch filed a Voluntary Self-Disclosure and cooperated throughout; the DOJ issued the first-ever NSD declination under its newly established Corporate Enforcement Policy, declining criminal prosecution entirely.

At the Japan–UK bilateral summit in London on June 14, 2026, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued the "Japan–UK Leaders' Joint Declaration on Economic Security Cooperation," committing to deepen collaboration on critical minerals supply-chain diversification (mining, refining, processing, recycling, stockpiling), a focused battery-materials and recycling dialogue, and semiconductor technology cooperation through the Japan–UK Frontier Technology Partnership. The two leaders expressed grave concerns over economic coercion and arbitrary export restrictions on critical minerals and other materials that could affect global supply chains. The declaration preceded and informed the G7 Évian critical-minerals alliance announced three days later on June 17, 2026.

On June 8, 2026, the US Department of Defense published its annual update to the Section 1260H Chinese Military Companies (CMIC) list, adding 65 entities (17 new parent companies and 48 subsidiaries), bringing the total to approximately 188–200 designated entities. Major additions span EV and battery manufacturing (BYD, NIO, CATL), consumer internet (Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent), semiconductors (SMIC, YMTC, CXMT), solar (JA Solar, Trina Solar), biotech (BGI Genomics, WuXi AppTec), drones/robotics (DJI, Unitree, RoboSense), and telecoms (TP-Link). Effective June 30, 2026, DoD is prohibited from procuring goods, services, or technology directly from listed entities; effective June 30, 2027, the ban extends to indirect supply-chain procurement through prime contractors and all sub-tiers.

Japan's Diet passed the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (FEFTA) 2026 Amendment on 29 May 2026; the law was promulgated on 5 June 2026. The amendment represents the most significant overhaul of Japan's inbound FDI screening regime since FEFTA was first applied to national-security transactions in 2019. Three structural additions: (1) indirect-acquisition screening — extends mandatory prior-notification to acquisitions of Japanese sensitive-sector companies effected through intermediate holding structures or offshore parent vehicles, closing the principal gap exploited by Chinese and GCC SWF investors via SPV chains; (2) call-in powers — grants the Minister of Finance authority to open a review up to ten years retroactively where an acquisition was not pre-notified or where circumstances have materially changed since clearance, directly analogous to CFIUS § 721(b)(1)(D) retroactive jurisdiction; (3) cross-ministerial "Japan CFIUS" consultation framework — formally institutionalises a standing inter-agency committee (Finance, METI, MoD, NPA, MIAC) modelled on the US CFIUS committee, replacing the prior ad-hoc inter-ministerial process. Cross-ministerial and indirect-acquisition provisions entered into force immediately on promulgation (5 June 2026); remaining Cabinet-Order-level implementing provisions to follow within one year.

On 3 June 2026 the European Commission adopted a legislative proposal to amend and substantially expand the EU Chips Act (Regulation (EU) 2023/1781), as part of the European Technological Sovereignty Package. The proposal raises the mobilisation target from €43bn to €120bn, introduces new demand-side "Demand Accelerators" to aggregate public procurement, expands "Grand Challenges" to cover AI-optimised chips, caps permitting at 12 months, and widens the Strategic Partnerships on Semiconductors framework. As a Commission legislative proposal it now enters co-decision (European Parliament + Council) before becoming law; the 2023 regulation remains in force during this process.

China's State Council signed Order No. 837 on May 5, 2026, publishing the Regulations on Outbound Investment by Enterprises on June 1, 2026, effective July 1, 2026. The 34-article framework introduces full-process supervision of all outbound direct investment (ODI) by Chinese enterprises and individuals, requiring combined MOFCOM and export-control clearance for projects involving controlled technologies. The regulations authorise countermeasures against foreign governments that discriminate against Chinese outbound investors and establish a national ODI information-reporting system with real-time monitoring.

On 23 May 2026 President Javier Milei, Economy Minister Luis Caputo, and Chief of Staff Manuel Adorni announced the "Régimen de Incentivo para Grandes Inversiones en Nuevas Industrias" (Super RIGI), and on 26 May 2026 submitted the bill (Mensaje 181/2026, expediente 0005-PE-2026) to the Cámara de Diputados — pending Congressional approval as of filing. The regime applies a US$1 billion minimum investment threshold (with ≥20% committed in the first two years), a 15% corporate income tax rate (vs 25% under the base 2024 RIGI), accelerated depreciation of 60%/20%/20% over three years, immediate export-duty exemption (vs year 3 under RIGI), import-tariff exemption, and 30-year regulatory stability across tax, customs, social security, and FX matters. A progressive FX-liberalisation schedule allows 20% / 40% / 100% free disposal of export-generated foreign currency in years 1 / 2 / 3+. Target sectors are industries that "do not currently exist or are in experimental/pilot phase in Argentina," including semiconductors, AI data centres, advanced biotech, 100% electric vehicles, lithium value chain (downstream processing, cathode, battery), green hydrogen, solar panels, wind turbines, onshore LNG, SMR nuclear, aerospace, uranium value chain, potassium and phosphorus fertilisers, and new petrochemicals.

The European Commission (DG COMP) approved on 20 May 2026 two German State aid measures under the European Chips Act first-pillar 'first-of-a-kind' framework and Article 107(3)(c) TFEU, totalling €288 million. A €222 million grant supports Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH's HNA@SCALE project in Oberkochen (Baden-Württemberg) to industrialise the next generation of High-NA EUV optical columns — the lithography-optic sub-systems integrated by ASML into its High-NA EUV scanners and critical to 2nm-and-below node manufacturing globally. A separate €66 million grant supports Zadient Materials Europe GmbH's SiC-Pro project in Bitterfeld (Saxony-Anhalt) to construct a first-of-a-kind ultra-pure silicon carbide (SiC) source-material manufacturing facility, addressing upstream SiC supply-chain dependence on China (which produces ~80% of global SiC). Both facilities carry cross-border spillover commitments under Chips Act pillar 1.

USTR formally initiated the second statutorily mandated four-year review of its Section 301 investigation into China's acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation (Federal Register 2026-08806, published May 6, 2026). The review covers tariff actions imposed on approximately $300 billion of Chinese goods across Lists 1–4B (25% on most lists; 7.5% on List 4A) and will determine whether those actions should be continued, modified, or terminated. Interested parties may file continuation requests in two 60-day windows: May 7–July 5, 2026 (for the July 6, 2018 action) and June 24– August 22, 2026 (for the August 23, 2018 action). DISTINCT from the March 2026 Section 301 excess-capacity investigations (which target 16 economies on overcapacity sectors) and from the June 2026 Section 301 forced-labor enforcement action (60 economies); this review is China-specific, IP/TT-focused, and mandated by the original Biden-era statutory clock under Section 304(c) of the Trade Act of 1974.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved on 5 May 2026 two new semiconductor manufacturing units under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) Phase 1: Crystal Matrix Limited (CML) — India's first GaN-based compound-semiconductor and Mini/Micro-LED display fabrication facility (INR 3,068 crore, Dholera, Gujarat) and Suchi Semicon Private Limited (SSPL) — an OSAT facility for discrete semiconductors (INR 868 crore, Surat, Gujarat). Cumulative investment INR 3,936 crore (~USD 400mn); 2,230 skilled jobs at full ramp. This constitutes the 12th and final batch of ISM Phase 1 approvals, closing the first-phase envelope before ISM 2.0 (filed 2026-02-01) takes over.

The Decreto para la Autorización Inmediata de Inversiones, published in Mexico's Diario Oficial de la Federación on 4 May 2026, creates a streamlined investment-authorization mechanism under President Sheinbaum's Plan México strategy. The decree establishes an Investment Committee — composed of the Secretariats of Economía, Hacienda, SEMARNAT, SCT, Energía, and Bienestar — mandated to issue authorization certificates within 30 business days for qualifying projects, replacing the historic 6–18-month multi-agency backlog. Eligibility covers three tiers: projects in designated Polos de Desarrollo Económico para el Bienestar (Welfare Development Poles), investments of MXN 2 billion (≈USD 100M) or more, and projects in strategic sectors (semiconductors, EV batteries, critical minerals, automotive supply chain, medical devices, biotech, aerospace). This is the procedural- acceleration arm of Plan México, structurally distinct from the January 2025 Plan México tax-incentive decree (the fiscal arm), and operationalises the February 2026 Plan México expansion announced by Sheinbaum.

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs established the Quantum Industry Technology Promotion Office (QITPO) on April 27, 2026, as the government's primary vehicle to develop Taiwan's role in the global quantum supply chain beyond its established "Silicon Island" semiconductor position. QITPO is mandated across three axes: supporting Taiwanese manufacturers' technical capabilities in early-stage quantum development ("Quantum Taiwan" initiative); creating a cross-sector exchange platform between industry, academia, and research institutions; and attracting global quantum companies to establish R&D centres in Taiwan. Eighteen Taiwanese companies participated in the launch event.

On 15 April 2026 Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) published the interim summary "Manufacturing Base Strengthening Report" from the Study Group on Strengthening Manufacturing Base in Light of Geopolitical Risks. The report frames Japan's manufacturing base as the source of national power and proposes shifting economic-security support for "autonomy assurance" from "point" measures to "area"-wide measures — expanding the scope of Specified Critical Materials under the 2022 Economic Security Promotion Act (ESPA) beyond narrowly defined inputs to cover foundational petrochemicals (ethylene, propylene, methanol, synthetic rubber) and process-industry technologies (casting, forging), plus components for emerging technologies (humanoid-robot actuators and sensors, lasers for quantum computing). It is the cornerstone framework document operationalising METI's FY2026 strategic-budget package (~¥3.07 trillion overall envelope; ~¥1.23 trillion specifically for semiconductors and AI, including ¥150bn for Rapidus and ¥387.3bn for AI development) as Japan's coordinated response to deepening Chinese export-control pressure on dual-use items, gallium/germanium, graphite, antimony and heavy rare earths.

On 9 April 2026 the Government of India, exercising powers under section 4(1) of the Special Economic Zones Act 2005, gazetted a 66.166-hectare sector-specific Special Economic Zone at Dholera Special Investment Region, Gujarat for Tata Semiconductor Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd, exclusively for electronic hardware, software and IT/ITES. The notification is the statutory site- enabling instrument for India's first commercial-scale wafer-fab plant — a ~INR 91,000 crore (~USD 11bn) Tata Electronics / PSMC (Powerchip, Taiwan) joint project announced under India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 1.0 in February 2024 — and follows the Letter of Approval issued on 17 March 2026. The same notification designates the SEZ as an Inland Container Depot under the Customs Act 1962 with effect from 9 April 2026, enabling on-site customs clearance for fab inputs.

The US Bureau of Industry and Security issued a final rule (RIN 0694-AK74, 91 FR 17851, FR doc 2026-06851, signed 7 April 2026, published 9 April 2026, effective 7 April 2026) extending two compliance dates in the January 2025 Foundry Due Diligence (FDD) interim final rule that introduced the "Authorized IC Designer" / "Approved IC Designer" framework for advanced-computing integrated circuits controlled under ECCN 3A090.a. The prior 13 April 2026 cutoff for Authorized IC Designer status — the self-certification pathway available to designers headquartered in Country Group A:1 / A:5 / Taiwan and not parented in Macau or D:5 — is moved to 31 December 2026, and the application window to become an Approved IC Designer is extended to the same date with a subsequent 180-day authorization runway. The rule is a procedural deadline-extension only; it does not change the substantive scope, eligibility criteria, ECCN classifications, or end-use / end-user restrictions of the FDD IFR.

The Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration published a Federal Register notice on 10 April 2026 (91 FR 18412, doc 2026-06952) opening the inaugural Call for Proposals for the American AI Exports Program established under Executive Order 14320. Proposals are accepted from 1 April 2026 through 5:00 pm EDT on 30 June 2026 from US industry-led "pre-set" consortia offering full-stack American AI export packages — AI-optimised hardware, data pipelines, AI models and systems, security and cybersecurity measures, and sector-specific applications — for presentation by the US government to foreign public- and private-sector buyers. Designated consortia receive priority US-government advocacy, priority consideration for export-control licence engagement, interagency coordination, and federal-financing referrals (EXIM, DFC), with a 14-business-day completeness review and 60-calendar-day designation decision once a proposal is deemed complete.

Premier Li Qiang signed State Council Order No. 834 on 31 March 2026 promulgating the "Provisions on Industrial Chain and Supply Chain Security" (18 articles), adopted at the State Council executive meeting on 13 March 2026 and effective on the date of publication. The Provisions are the first dedicated PRC administrative regulation on industrial- and supply-chain security and consolidate authorities drawn from the National Security Law, Foreign Relations Law, Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, and Foreign Trade Law into a horizontal defensive framework. They establish a cross-agency coordination mechanism spanning roughly 15 central departments (industrial, security, cyberspace, customs and financial regulators) plus provincial governments; create a security-investigation system; and vest broad countermeasure authority over both foreign states (Article 14 — import/export prohibitions and special levies) and foreign organisations and individuals (Article 15 — import/export bans, China-investment bars, transaction prohibitions, entry bars and revocation of work or residence permits, with extension to effectively-controlled subsidiaries). The Provisions also impose compliance, information-sharing, strategic-reserve and emergency-response obligations on PRC organisations and individuals, and authorise requisition, mandated production and directed transportation in the event of supply-chain disruption.

On 31 March 2026 the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 96/2026/ND-CP, the principal implementing decree for the Law on Investment 2025 (Law 143/2025/QH15). It takes effect on its signing date and replaces Decree 31/2021/ND-CP, Decree 19/2025/ND-CP and Decree 239/2025/ND-CP — the first comprehensive overhaul of Vietnam's general FDI-licensing framework since 2021. The decree operationalises the new Special Investment Procedure (a registration-and-commitment fast-track in industrial parks, export-processing zones, hi-tech parks, concentrated digital- technology zones, free-trade zones, international financial centres and economic-zone functional areas) and details the list of 16 specially-incentivised sectors covering semiconductor and chip manufacturing, AI, big data, digital technology and high-tech R&D. It also rewrites foreign-investor market-access conditions, document procedures and dispute / grievance mechanisms.

The Philippine Semiconductor and Electronics Industry (PSEI) Roadmap 2026–2030 was presented at the 4th SEIAC meeting at Malacañang on 23 March 2026 by BOI Executive Director Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa and formally rolled out by DTI in April 2026. The Roadmap targets $110 billion in annual exports by 2030 ($70B semiconductors + $40B electronics, approximately doubling the current ~$50B baseline) via value-chain ascent from assembly-test-packaging through IC design toward front-end wafer fabrication, supported by 128,000-worker upskilling over five years and up to three national laboratories in fabrication, R&D, and talent development.

On 19 March 2026 the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) announced the selection of 38 German projects across 12 federal Länder for the IPCEI Advanced Semiconductor Technologies (IPCEI AST) — the next Important Project of Common European Interest on semiconductors under EU State Aid Article 107(3)(b) TFEU. The federal commitment is EUR 3 billion drawn from the Sondervermögen Infrastruktur und Klimaneutralität (SVIK), the EUR 100 bn special-purpose vehicle enacted via SVIKG in September 2025. The 38 selected projects span AI chips and chiplets, photonic integrated circuits, advanced manufacturing equipment, sensor technologies, and power electronics, with approximately one-third being startups and SMEs. The measure operationalises Germany's Microelectronics Strategy (October 2025) at the project-funding layer and is the first major SVIK semiconductor-tranche deployment.

India's Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) issued Press Note 2 of 2026 on March 15, 2026 (following Cabinet approval on March 10, 2026), recalibrating the Press Note 3 (2020) FDI framework for investments from countries sharing a land border with India. Global investors with up to 10% non-controlling Chinese (or other land-border) shareholding can now invest in India under the automatic route across sectors, while entities domiciled in China, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Afghanistan continue to require prior government approval. For 40 designated strategic sub-sectors — including rare earth permanent magnets, polysilicon and ingot-wafer manufacturing, printed circuit boards, electronic capital goods, Li-ion batteries and machine tools — proposals will be decided within a binding 60-day window, with majority Indian ownership and control mandated at all times. Effective from the date of the corresponding amendment to the FEMA Non-Debt Instruments Rules.

South Korea's 13th National Strategic Technology Special Committee (chaired by MSIT) adopted the 2026 Annual Implementation Plan for the First Basic Plan for National Strategic Technology Development (2024–2028), committing KRW 8.6 trillion in 2026 R&D investment — a ~30% YoY increase from KRW 6.5 trillion in 2025 — across 19 NEXT strategic-technology fields encompassing AI, semiconductors, quantum, displays, and secondary batteries, coordinated across 23 ministries. The plan is supplemented by KRW 46.6 trillion in policy finance delivered through Korea Development Bank (KDB), Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (KCGF), and Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC), providing the horizontal funding-coordination architecture that operationalises all sector-specific Korean strategic-technology legislative instruments.

South Korea's National Assembly passed the Special Act for Korea-US Strategic Investment Management (한미 전략적 투자 관리를 위한 특별법) on 12 March 2026 by a bipartisan vote of 226-8-8, authorising a sovereign-backed US$350bn (~KRW 517tn) investment commitment to the United States over an annual US$20bn cap. The act creates the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Corporation (한미전략투자공사), a new state-run entity with KRW 2tn (~US$1.36bn) government-financed paid-in capital, as the institutional vehicle to execute the bilateral investment MOU. Article 3 Clause 3 permits investment decisions to proceed despite insufficient commercial viability when national-security or supply-chain-stability grounds exist, subject to prior consent of the relevant National Assembly Standing Committee, operationalising the December 2025 Korea-US Strategic Trade and Investment Deal investment-pledge tranche.

On 12 March 2026 the UK Cabinet Office (Investment Security Unit) published its Government Response to the consultation on reform of the Notifiable Acquisition Regulations (NARs) under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 — the first major substantive overhaul of the NSI mandatory-notification schedules since the regime took effect on 4 January 2022. The reform splits Critical Minerals out of the existing Advanced Materials schedule into a standalone mandatory schedule covering all 34 minerals on the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre's latest criticality assessment; splits Semiconductors into its own standalone schedule (capturing advanced packaging and specific chip-design processes); creates a brand-new Water sector schedule covering the 17 regional water and sewerage undertakers in England and Wales; refocuses Artificial Intelligence on entities that create or materially modify AI systems (excluding routine end-use); and refines Communications, Critical Suppliers to Government, Data Infrastructure, Energy and Suppliers to Emergency Services to reduce low-risk capture. An implementing Statutory Instrument is expected later in 2026; the existing NARs remain in force until that SI takes effect.

On 11 March 2026 USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer initiated parallel Section 301 investigations into the acts, policies, and practices of 16 economies — China, the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan, and India — relating to structural excess capacity and overproduction in manufacturing sectors. The Federal Register notice (FR doc 2026-05214; dockets USTR-2026-0067 and USTR-2026-0068) was published on 17 March 2026. Covered sectors include aluminum, automobiles, batteries, cement, chemicals, electronics, energy goods, glass, machine tools, machinery, paper, plastics, processed food and beverages, robotics, satellites, semiconductors, ships, solar modules, steel, and transportation equipment. Written comments were due by 15 April 2026; USTR held the public hearing beginning 5 May 2026. This is the most sweeping multi-economy Section 301 initiative since the 2018 China investigation and is structurally distinct from the China-only 2024-05-14 §301 tariff hikes and the 2025-07-15 Brazil §301 investigation.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel launched the Gujarat Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy 2026–2031 on 1 March 2026 at the SemiConnect 2026 Conference in Gandhinagar, establishing a five-year ₹1,000 crore Swadeshi Anusandhan Fund (Indigenous Innovation Fund) for domestic R&D across strategic sectors including AI, semiconductors, quantum technologies, biotechnology, green energy, and defence. The policy targets state STI expenditure of 1% of GSDP by 2030, creation of 1 lakh skilled research professionals, 1,000+ IP filings annually, and builds three Gujarat Rajya Research and Innovation Cluster (GRRIC) corridors to anchor the state's growing semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem.

President Trump signed Executive Order 14387 on 18 February 2026, invoking Section 101 of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to ensure an adequate domestic supply of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides. The order delegates DPA §101 priority-allocation and contract- direction authority to the Secretary of Agriculture, authorises USDA to direct the production and distribution of these inputs for national-defense purposes, and grants legal immunity to domestic producers acting in compliance with USDA directives. The EO is the first DPA invocation specifically targeting the phosphorus supply chain, reflecting the concentration of global white/yellow phosphorus production in China (~75% share) and the existence of only a single operating US producer.

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (DOD, GSA, and NASA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on 17 February 2026 (FR Doc 2026-03065, 91 FR 7223) implementing Section 5949(a) of the NDAA FY2023 (Pub. L. 117-263), which bars executive agencies from acquiring electronic products or services containing semiconductor components designed, produced, or provided by SMIC, CXMT, YMTC, or their affiliates. A Part B prohibition extends the restriction to "critical systems" whose subsystems incorporate covered semiconductors regardless of COTS sourcing. The comment period closed 20 April 2026; proposed prohibitions take effect 23 December 2027.

On 12 February 2026, Ambassador Jamieson Greer of the Office of the United States Trade Representative oversaw the signing of the US-Taiwan Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) in Washington, DC. The instrument was signed under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO). Headline terms: (i) US IEEPA reciprocal-tariff rate on Taiwan reduced from 20% to 15% and Section 232 auto-parts/timber/lumber rate cut from 25% to 15%; (ii) Taiwan eliminates or reduces 99% of its tariff barriers on US goods, most immediately and the remainder phased over three years; (iii) Taiwan side commits ~USD 85bn in directed purchases through 2029 (USD 44.4bn LNG/crude, USD 15.2bn civil aircraft and engines, USD 25.2bn power equipment); (iv) sectoral chapters covering tariffs, non-tariff barriers, digital trade, economic security, and high-tech supply-chain resilience. Operationally linked to the 15 January 2026 AIT-TECRO Memorandum of Understanding on investment, under which Taiwan pledges USD 250bn in direct Taiwanese-enterprise investment in the US plus USD 250bn in Taiwan-government credit guarantees (USD 500bn total) to fund US-side industrial parks/clusters in advanced semiconductors, energy, and AI manufacturing. Entry into force is conditional on Taiwan's Legislative Yuan completing its review.

On 6 February 2026, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced a USD 14,076,031 grant from the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund (TSIF) to Coherent Corp. to accelerate scaled production of 6-inch Indium Phosphide (InP) wafers at its Sherman, Texas facility. The grant supports a broader USD 154 million capital-investment project that will establish what the announcement describes as the world's first 6-inch InP wafer fabrication plant, consolidating Coherent's North American semiconductor operations. InP wafers underpin photonics components used in data-center interconnects, telecommunications, AI compute networking, advanced sensing, and 6G wireless/satellite links. TSIF was established under the Texas CHIPS Act signed by Abbott in 2023.

On 2 February 2026 the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Board approved a Direct Loan of up to USD 10 billion to an independently governed public-private partnership establishing the U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve ("Project Vault"), alongside nearly USD 2 billion of private-sector investment for an envelope of approximately USD 12 billion. The reserve will physically stockpile the 60 minerals on the USGS 2025 Critical Minerals List across multiple US storage facilities, with participating original equipment manufacturers (Clarios, GE Vernova, Western Digital, Boeing) committing to specific volumes and grades and trading partners (Hartree Partners, Mercuria Americas, Traxys) handling sourcing. EXIM characterises the transaction as the largest single financing in its 92-year history and the first use of EXIM authority as the financing vehicle for a domestic strategic-minerals stockpile rather than for export-credit insurance abroad.

On 1 February 2026 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled India's Union Budget 2026-27, with Customs Notification No. 02/2026-Customs (dated 1 Feb 2026, effective 2 Feb 2026) implementing the customs-duty package. The notification zero-rates basic customs duty (BCD) on (i) capital goods imported for domestic processing of critical minerals — crushing, beneficiation, refining, chemical-processing, separation/purification, and metallurgical/alloy-making equipment; (ii) capital goods for lithium-ion cell manufacturing for battery energy storage systems (BESS), extending the 2024-25 EV-cell exemption to stationary storage; and (iii) twelve additional critical minerals plus cobalt powder and lithium-ion battery scrap, on top of the 25 critical minerals already exempted in the FY2024-25 budget. In parallel, critical minerals (including monazite / rare-earth concentrate) are migrated from the customs-exemption notification mechanism into the First Schedule of the Customs Tariff Act at Nil BCD, effective 1 May 2026 — a tariffisation step that locks the rate into primary legislation rather than annually renewable notification. The Budget also commits to dedicated critical-mineral / rare-earth-magnet processing corridors in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Structurally this is the fiscal/tariff layer underneath the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM, Jan 2025) and the National Manufacturing Mission (Feb 2025): NCMM funds capex and overseas asset acquisition (₹34,300 cr), this Budget removes the import-duty drag on the equipment needed to actually run domestic processing lines. It complements the REPM scheme (Nov 2025) for sintered rare-earth magnets and Semicon Mission 2.0 (Feb 2026) on the demand side for refined critical minerals.

On 1 February 2026 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, presenting the Union Budget 2026-27, announced the launch of India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0 — the second-phase national semiconductor industrial-policy framework succeeding ISM 1.0 (2021, INR 76,000 crore). The Budget makes an initial INR 1,000 crore provision for ISM 2.0 in FY 2026-27 and raises the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) outlay from INR 22,919 crore to INR 40,000 crore. ISM 2.0's distinct architecture centres on four strategic priorities not in ISM 1.0: (i) indigenous semiconductor equipment, chemicals, gases and materials production, (ii) full-stack Indian semiconductor IP design, (iii) industry-led R&D and skills/training centres, and (iv) domestic and global supply-chain integration. Total mission outlay reported as approximately INR 1-1.2 lakh crore (~USD 12-14bn) is being finalised; Cabinet clearance and the formal scheme launch are expected by mid-2026.

The US Department of War awarded 5N Plus Inc. (Montreal-headquartered, TSX: VNP) an USD 18.1 million Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III grant to expand germanium recovery and refining capacity at its St. George, Utah facility. The award, announced 30 January 2026 under the "Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production" executive order, funds a roughly sevenfold expansion of zone-refining capacity to more than 20 metric tons of high-purity germanium per year over 48 months, sourced from industrial residues and mining by-products. The germanium feeds optical and solar-cell germanium crystal supply chains used in defense applications.

On 29 January 2026, European Council President António Costa and Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính signed a Joint Statement in Hanoi upgrading EU-Vietnam bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) — the highest tier in Vietnam's diplomatic hierarchy, placing the EU on the same level as Vietnam's CSPs with China, Russia, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia, France, and the United States. The CSP establishes a reinforced bilateral cooperation framework spanning critical raw materials, semiconductor supply chains, artificial intelligence, trusted 5G infrastructure, climate and energy transition, security and defence (including cyber and maritime), and full implementation of the 2019 EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) tariff-elimination schedule plus ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). It is the EU's eleventh CSP globally and its second in Southeast Asia (after Singapore, 2024), and constitutes the foundational bilateral parent framework for all future EU-Vietnam cooperation under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) Article 13 third-country strategic-project designation pipeline, given Vietnam's approximately 22 Mt rare-earth reserves — the world's second-largest deposit after China.

South Korea's National Assembly passed the "Special Act on Strengthening and Supporting the Competitiveness of the Semiconductor Industry" (반도체산업 경쟁력 강화 및 지원에 관한 특별법) on 29 January 2026 by 199 votes in favour out of 206 members present, after roughly 18 months of inter-party deadlock. The act establishes (i) a Presidential Commission for Enhancing Semiconductor Competitiveness as the central inter-ministerial coordination body, (ii) a statutory five-year master plan with annual implementation plans, (iii) a dedicated semiconductor industry special account ("반도체산업 특별회계") to ring-fence funding for fabs, materials, parts and equipment, and packaging across the full memory + system-LSI + design + manufacturing supply chain, and (iv) authority to designate semiconductor clusters outside the greater Seoul area with relocation incentives. Promulgation by the Cabinet is expected shortly after passage; effectiveness contingent on enforcement-ordinance finalisation, expected Q3 2026. The KRW 2tn anchor envelope of the special account does not begin disbursing until 2027 because companion amendments to the National Finance Act were not enacted in time.

The Government of Rajasthan approved its first dedicated semiconductor industrial policy on 21 January 2026, offering a layered incentive stack on top of India's national Semiconductor Mission (ISM). The policy covers fab, ATMP, OSAT, compound semiconductors (SiC, GaN), display fabs, sensors, power electronics, PCBs, and fabless design, with investment-classification tiering (large / mega / ultra-mega categories). Key incentives include a 60% top-up on any ISM capital subsidy received, a 5% interest subsidy on term loans, 100% electricity duty exemption for seven years, 75% stamp duty and land conversion charges exemption, and SGST reimbursements. The official policy document was publicly released on 24 March 2026 via the Rising Rajasthan portal.

India's Ministry of Mines on 19 January 2026 notified the country's first national Tailings Policy, establishing a standardised framework for the systematic exploration, sampling and economic evaluation of critical and strategic minerals from secondary sources — tailings, mine dumps, slag, anode slimes, red mud and fly ash — at existing mines. The policy designates the Geological Survey of India (GSI), Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) and Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) as the implementing agencies, and mandates inter-ministry coordination across the Ministries of Coal, Mines, Petroleum and Atomic Energy because critical-mineral host materials cut across sectoral jurisdictions. It supplements the National Critical Mineral Mission (2025-01-29) by adding a secondary-source recovery track aimed at lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements found as companion minerals in legacy mining waste, with the explicit objective of reducing import dependency.

On 16 January 2026 the Yunnan Provincial People's Government issued Yunzhengfa [2026] No. 2, a package of 34 policy measures (effective through 2030) to support high-quality development of the Central Yunnan New Area (滇中新区), a national-level new area centred on Kunming. The measures span industrial upgrading, innovation, opening-up and fiscal/land support: transformation of traditional petrochemical and metallurgy industries into "hundred-billion-yuan" clusters, development of semiconductor materials/equipment, new-energy battery materials and non-ferrous/rare-precious-metals manufacturing using Yunnan's mineral and plateau-agriculture resources, and cultivation of low-altitude economy, biomanufacturing and new-materials industries. It also seeks to establish a South/Southeast Asia aircraft-delivery centre and one-stop aviation-maintenance base in the new area.

On 2026-01-15, Hong Kong's New Industrialisation Vetting Committee announced it had supported in principle an application from Oriental Materials Hong Kong Limited — a subsidiary of mainland China's Henan Oriental Materials Co. — under the New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme (NIAS). The project will fund new production lines at Yuen Long InnoPark producing and validating front-end semiconductor manufacturing equipment (furnace systems, etching equipment, chemical vapour deposition systems). Total project investment is over HKD 800 million, with the Hong Kong government providing up to HKD 200 million (roughly one-third, per NIAS's 1:2 government:enterprise matching structure). Construction was slated to begin by end-March 2026, with production targeted around June 2027.

On 14 January 2026 President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 imposing a 25% ad valorem tariff on imports of certain advanced computing chips and their derivative products, effective 12:01 a.m. EST on 15 January 2026. The measure adopts findings of the Section 232 investigation initiated 1 April 2025 (Department of Commerce report transmitted 22 December 2025) into semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and derivative products. Coverage is narrowly drawn to high-performance AI accelerators meeting specified technical parameters (publicly characterised as covering devices in the NVIDIA H200 / AMD MI325X performance tier), with broad use-based exemptions for chips going into US data centres, US R&D, US repairs, and other uses deemed to strengthen domestic supply chains.

On 14 January 2026, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced a USD 15.2 million grant from the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund (TSIF) to Tekscend Photomask Round Rock Inc., a subsidiary of Japan's Toppan Holdings, to expand photomask production capacity at its Round Rock manufacturing facility. The grant supports a broader USD 223 million capital-investment expansion that increases existing facility capacity by more than 40%, modernizes equipment, and extends technology capability down to the 12nm node, and is expected to create 50 jobs. TSIF was established under the Texas CHIPS Act signed by Abbott in 2023.

The US Bureau of Industry and Security issued a final rule (RIN 0694-AK43, 91 FR 1684, signed 13 January 2026, effective 15 January 2026) revising the EAR license-review policy for exports of certain advanced-computing integrated circuits to end-users in China and Macau from a presumption of denial to case-by-case review. Eligibility is limited to commodities controlled under ECCN 3A090.a and 3A090.b with a Total Processing Performance (TPP) below 21,000 and total DRAM bandwidth below 6,500 GB/s — the band that covers NVIDIA H200 and AMD MI325X-equivalents and below. To qualify, exporters must certify (i) sufficiency of US supply such that the export will not delay domestic orders or divert foundry capacity, (ii) that aggregate TPP of advanced-node ICs exported to China or Macau will not exceed 50% of domestic shipments, (iii) compliance with end-use and end-user prohibitions, and (iv) prior performance review by a qualified independent third-party testing lab headquartered in the United States. The rule is the first material rollback of the October 2022 / October 2023 / December 2024 advanced-computing export-control architecture and operationalises the Trump-administration policy of trading H200-class chip access against Chinese cooperation on critical minerals, fentanyl precursors and Taiwan-strait restraint.