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

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.

The French state, via the Agence des participations de l'État (APE), signed a contract on 1 August 2025 to acquire Atos's Advanced Computing division — encompassing the High Performance Computing & Quantum and Business Computing & AI units, commercially known as Bull — for an enterprise value of up to EUR 410 million (later adjusted to up to EUR 404 million after scope changes). The division employs over 2,500 people, mostly in France, generates roughly EUR 800 million in expected 2025 revenue, and operates Europe's only supercomputer manufacturing plant (Angers), including delivery of the EuroHPC JUPITER exascale system. The Ministry of Economy and Finance framed the acquisition as keeping "strategic industrial activities and key technologies" in French hands; the deal closed on 31 March 2026 with the French state as Bull's sole shareholder.

On 1 July 2025 India's Union Cabinet approved the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme, a six-year, ₹1,00,000 crore (≈USD 11.68 bn) fund to catalyse private-sector investment in research, development and innovation, with ₹20,000 crore allocated for FY2025-26. The scheme finances transformative RDI projects (TRL 4 and above) in strategic and sunrise sectors — deep tech, AI, biotechnology, quantum computing, robotics, space, energy transition and the digital economy — through long-tenor, low-or-nil-interest loans and equity, up to 50% of assessed project cost. Grants and short-term loans are explicitly excluded. Funds flow through a Special Purpose Fund under ANRF (first-level) to second-level fund managers — Alternate Investment Funds, Development Finance Institutions, NBFCs, and focused research bodies including the Technology Development Board (TDB) and BIRAC — which began issuing project calls in February 2026.

On 9 April 2025 the European Commission adopted Communication COM(2025)165, the AI Continent Action Plan, setting out a five-pillar strategy to make the EU a global AI leader. The pillars are (1) computing infrastructure, (2) data for AI, (3) strategic AI innovation and adoption, (4) AI skills and talent, and (5) regulatory simplification. Headline commitments include mobilising approximately €200bn of public+private investment via the InvestAI initiative announced at the AI Action Summit in Paris (11 February 2025), deploying 13 AI Factories (HPC-anchored shared compute facilities) plus regional antennas, building 5 AI Gigafactories powered by >100,000 advanced AI processors with €20bn earmarked from InvestAI, launching the Apply AI Strategy and Data Union Strategy, and proposing a Cloud and AI Development Act with a public consultation closing 4 June 2025. The one-year progress report (9 April 2026) confirmed 19 AI Factories deployed across EU supercomputers with 13 Antennas providing regional access, and €1bn in Apply AI funding calls earmarked.

On 19 February 2025 Vietnam's 15th National Assembly adopted Resolution 193/2025/QH15 at its 9th Extraordinary Session, establishing 12 pilot policy categories that operationalise the Politburo's December 2024 Resolution 57-NQ/TW without requiring full-statute enactment. The resolution's most structurally novel element is an R&D risk-acceptance framework — the first in Southeast Asia — that exempts organisations and individuals from civil liability for damage caused to the State in the course of state-funded R&D activities conducted in compliance with prescribed procedures, directly addressing Vietnam's long-standing chilling effect on state-sector innovation. Additional pilots cover expedited procurement for sci-tech and digital-transformation projects, special tax and immigration incentives for high-skilled AI/semiconductor/ quantum R&D personnel, accelerated permitting pathways for priority-sector R&D investments, a start-up grant and venture framework, and an open-data regime for state-held datasets. Implementing Decree 88/2025/ND-CP was issued shortly after adoption; the resolution provides the legal-framework architecture that complements the financial-instrument side (Decree 182/2024/ND-CP, VND 30 trillion Investment Support Fund) and the sectoral-law cluster enacted in late 2025.