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On 19 February 2026 Presidents Trump and Prabowo finalised the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) between the United States and Indonesia. The deal locks the US reciprocal tariff on Indonesian imports at 19% (down from the 32% threatened in April 2025), with 0% on a defined list of products and a textile/apparel quota benchmarked to US-cotton/MMF inputs. Indonesia commits to remove export restrictions on all industrial commodities — explicitly including critical minerals across the full value chain — and to grant US investors national treatment in mineral exploration, mining, processing and export. Indonesia also agrees to eliminate tariff barriers on >99% of US-origin goods, while a Freeport-McMoRan MOU extends the Grasberg copper-mine licence (~USD 10bn/yr revenue, world's 2nd largest copper mine) and a parallel commercial package totalling ~USD 33bn (energy USD 15bn, aerospace incl. Boeing USD 13.5bn, agriculture USD 4.5bn) is signed alongside.

On 17 February 2026 Morocco's Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development (MTEDD), via its Direction Générale des Mines, published Notice n°1/DGMH/2026, an "appel public à la concurrence" opening 361 mining exploration/exploitation zones (~13,000 km², roughly 22% of the designated Tafilalet-Figuig mining region) spanning the Drâa-Tafilalet and Oriental regions for gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc and barite. Award is multi-criteria (technical, financial, and local socio-economic factors plus health/safety compliance) rather than price-only, reflecting the ESG principles adopted at Morocco's November 2025 International Mining Conference (Marrakech Declaration). Candidacy files are due 15 May 2026, filed with the regional MTEDD directorate in Errachidia (Drâa-Tafilalet blocks) or Oujda (Oriental blocks).

France's third Programmation Pluriannuelle de l'Énergie (PPE3), adopted by Décret n° 2026-76 of 12 February 2026 and published in the Journal Officiel on 13 February 2026, sets the framework for public energy policy in metropolitan continental France from 2026 to 2035. The decree codifies a 60% decarbonised-energy-consumption target by 2030 (from 42% in 2023), a 34% electrification share (585 TWh), and a reduction of fossil fuels to 40% of final energy consumption by 2030 (from 58% in 2023). It also formalises the EPR2 new-build programme (6 + 8 optional reactors) within the long-range generation-mix architecture, pairs with the Stratégie Nationale Bas-Carbone (SNBC3) for a net-zero-2050 trajectory, and includes an annex on clean-mobility development (SDMP).

Signed on 11 February 2026 at Mining Indaba (Cape Town) in the presence of DRC Minister of Mines Louis Watum Kabamba, the MoU grants Entreprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC — the DRC state cobalt monopsony) mining rights over an ERG Africa-owned exploitation area in Lualaba Province to pilot a structured artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) formalisation model covering organised cooperatives, designated ASM zones, controlled buying points, and compliance with safety and labour standards. EGC provides operational leadership and ERG Africa acts as enabling partner; ARECOMS, SEAMAPE, CEEC, and Gécamines provide regulatory and certification support, with GIZ as technical partner. The MoU is the primary public-private implementation vehicle for the December 2025 artisanal processing suspension (`2025-12-19-drc-artisanal-copper-cobalt-processing-suspension`), establishing the re-entry channel through which ASM cobalt supply re-enters formal supply chains under EGC monopsony control.

The European Commission cleared, under EU State aid rules, a rescue loan of up to EUR 390 million from the Italian government to Acciaierie d'Italia (AdI, formerly ILVA), operator of Italy's largest integrated steelworks at Taranto. AdI has been under insolvency administration since February 2024 and faces near-term liquidity shortfalls to cover operating costs — supplier payments and wages — while a tender process to sell the business to a new operator continues. The loan is capped at the projected liquidity shortfall, priced at a market interest rate, and limited to a maximum six-month duration, consistent with EU rescue-aid conditions.

On 9 February 2026 the European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the EIB Group, and Deutsche Sparkassen Leasing AG & Co. KG (Deutsche Leasing) signed two InvestEU-backed guarantee agreements — an uncapped EUR 200 million facility and a capped EUR 600 million facility (up to 70% guarantee rate, 5% cap rate on the capped tranche) — totalling up to EUR 800 million. The guarantees let Deutsche Leasing build a portfolio of up to EUR 1.1 billion in new sustainable asset finance, covering an estimated 4,600 leasing and loan contracts (up to EUR 8.25 million each) for SMEs and small mid-caps across its European network. The press release states coverage across 14 European countries but does not name them individually; GTA's own jurisdiction tagging lists all 27 EU member states, which is broader than the "14 countries" figure in the primary source and is not treated as authoritative here.

On 4 February 2026, Argentina and the United States signed the Framework Instrument for Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals at the inaugural FORGE Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington, DC. The instrument commits both parties to cooperation across the critical-minerals supply chain — exploration, mining, processing, refining, and value-added manufacturing — with lithium and copper as the primary strategic targets given Argentina's position as the world's fourth-largest holder of lithium reserves and an emerging copper producer in the Salta, Catamarca, and San Juan provinces. The framework is one of eleven founding bilateral instruments signed simultaneously under the FORGE (Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement) architecture and operationalises the Trump-Milei strategic alignment as a binding supply-chain coordination instrument. Argentina's mining-export trajectory is projected to surpass USD 20bn over the next seven years under the combined RIGI + bilateral-framework investment pull.

The Chongqing Municipal Government General Office issued Notice 渝府办发〔2026〕5号 on 2026-02-04, promulgating a "New Ten-Point Policy Supporting High-Quality Development of the Food and Agricultural Product Processing Industry," effective through 2028-12-31. The package includes up to CNY 200 million in funding for enterprises that establish national-level modern agricultural industrial parks or advantaged industrial clusters, directs 60%+ of fiscal steady-state assistance funds toward seven priority processing sub-sectors (grains/oils, meat/eggs/dairy, fruit/ vegetables/tea, leisure foods, condiments, hot-pot ingredients, Chinese medicinal materials), and subsidises new enterprise loans at up to 60% of the benchmark LPR (capped at CNY 2 million per enterprise), alongside a guarantee-fee cap of 0.6% for qualifying borrowers. Global Trade Alert flags the interest-subsidy component as the "Red" (most trade-distorting) intervention type.

The Cook Islands and United States signed a non-binding Framework for Engagement and Cooperation on 4–5 February 2026, on the sidelines of the 2026 US Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington DC, to strengthen supply chains for critical minerals, rare earths, and deep-sea minerals. The framework establishes a US–Cook Islands Working Group, promotes joint research, geological mapping and information sharing, encourages responsible investment aligned with high ESG standards, and supports development of secure, diversified and resilient critical minerals supply chains. Uniquely among the eleven bilaterals signed at the Ministerial, the Framework explicitly recognises the Cook Islands' leadership in ocean governance and reaffirms the Cook Islands' full sovereign control over its seabed minerals and decision-making — a sovereignty- preservation clause that distinguishes it from other Feb-2026 cohort instruments.

On 4 February 2026, Ecuador and the United States signed a bilateral critical minerals cooperation framework at the inaugural FORGE (Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement) Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington DC, committing both parties to cooperation across exploration, mining, processing, refining, and value-added manufacturing of critical minerals. The instrument is the eleventh and final founding bilateral signed under the FORGE architecture, completing the cohort of 11 bilateral frameworks established at the Ministerial. Ecuador's strategic profile centres on Tier-1 porphyry copper-gold deposits (Mirador, San Carlos-Panantza, Cascabel) and emerging rare-earth-bearing carbonatites, with the framework opening access to approximately USD 10 billion in EXIM Bank and DFC financing for Ecuadorean critical-minerals projects.

On 4 February 2026 USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer and Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard announced a U.S.-Mexico Action Plan on Critical Minerals — a first-of-its-kind 60-day bilateral work programme to develop coordinated trade policies and supply-chain mechanisms for critical minerals. The Action Plan tasks both governments with identifying a priority mineral list, exploring border-adjusted price floors as a candidate trade instrument, and consulting on how price floors could be incorporated into a binding plurilateral agreement on trade in critical minerals. It is framed as a confidence- building measure ahead of the USMCA Joint Review (statutory deadline 1 July 2026) and as the Mexico-side template that parallels concurrent USTR engagements with the EU and Japan.

On 4 February 2026, in Washington, DC, the United States and the Kingdom of Morocco signed an intergovernmental Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate on critical-mineral and rare-earth supply chains, covering exploration, extraction, processing, and downstream investment. The MoU was one of eleven founding-member bilateral instruments signed simultaneously at the inaugural FORGE (Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement) Critical Minerals Ministerial hosted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Morocco holds approximately 70-75% of the world's known phosphate reserves and is a globally significant cobalt, copper, and nickel producer; the framework explicitly aims to attract Western investment into Moroccan downstream processing capacity rather than raw-mineral export.

On 4 February 2026, in Washington, DC, Peru and the United States signed an intergovernmental Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate on critical-mineral supply chains, covering exploration, extraction, processing, and downstream investment. The MoU was one of eleven founding-member bilateral instruments signed simultaneously at the inaugural FORGE (Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement) Critical Minerals Ministerial hosted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and USTR Jamieson Greer. Peru is the world's second-largest copper producer (~12% of mined supply), a top-two silver and zinc producer, the leading Latin American gold producer, and a globally significant source of tin, molybdenum, and lead — making it the most strategically important Latin American signatory of the FORGE founding cohort alongside Argentina.

On 4 February 2026, in Washington, DC, Philippine Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Raphael P.M. Lotilla and US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg signed an intergovernmental Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate on diversifying global critical-mineral supply chains and to promote bilateral investment in mapping, survey, processing, refining, and recycling of critical minerals and rare earths. The MoU was one of eleven founding-member bilateral instruments signed simultaneously at the inaugural FORGE (Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement) Critical Minerals Ministerial hosted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The framework explicitly aims to push the Philippines' mining sector beyond raw-ore export toward domestic value-add and downstream processing.

On 4 February 2026, in Washington, DC, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Uzbekistan Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov signed an intergovernmental Memorandum of Understanding on Securing Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths. The MoU was one of eleven founding-member bilateral instruments signed simultaneously at the inaugural FORGE (Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement) Critical Minerals Ministerial and supersedes the September 2024 Biden-era US-Uzbekistan critical-minerals MoU. On 18 February 2026, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and EXIM signed Heads of Terms with Uzbekistan's Ministry of Investment, Industry, and Trade and the Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan establishing a Joint Investment Framework — including a proposed U.S.–Uzbekistan Joint Investment Holding Company — covering critical minerals (exploration, extraction, processing), infrastructure, and energy under a three-year Economic Cooperation Programme valued at up to USD 35bn.

On 3 February 2026, Glencore and the US-government-backed Orion Critical Mineral Consortium (led by Orion Resource Partners LP and the DFC) signed a non-binding MOU for Orion CMC to acquire a 40% stake in Glencore's DRC interests — Mutanda Mining (Mumi) and Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) — implying a combined enterprise value of approximately $9 billion. The transaction directly operationalises the December 2025 US-DRC Strategic Partnership Agreement at the equity level, giving the US government-backed buyer rights to appoint non-executive directors and to direct its share of copper and cobalt production to US-aligned offtakers. In 2025, Mumi and KCC together produced 247.8 kt copper metal and 33.5 kt cobalt, making this the largest single US critical-mineral equity-capture move in the DRC to date.

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 18 February 2025 Tailings Dam 15 at Sino-Metals Leach Zambia Limited's Chambishi facility (Copperbelt Province, Kalulushi District) failed, releasing acidic leach residue into the Chambishi Stream and the Mwambashi and Kafue Rivers; the company suspended operations and the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) commissioned an independent Environmental and Social Incident Impact Assessment (ESIIA). ZEMA received the consultant's final report on 19 December 2025 and held a public disclosure meeting in Kitwe on 6 January 2026. On 2 February 2026 the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development announced that the investigation had concluded and that, once ZEMA's review of the findings is complete, stakeholders will be engaged to determine remediation and compensation modalities. Company clean-up operations began in March 2026.

As part of the Union Budget 2026-27 tabled on 1 February 2026, India's Ministry of Defence budgeted INR 1,540.05 crore (~USD 178.4 million) in FY2026-27 "Investment in Public Enterprises" equity capital for the seven defence public-sector undertakings created from the October 2021 corporatisation of the former Ordnance Factory Board: Munitions India Limited (INR 745.50 crore), Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (INR 329.00 crore), Yantra India Limited (INR 228.00 crore), Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited/AVANI (INR 219.05 crore), Troop Comforts Limited (INR 10.00 crore), India Optel Limited (INR 6.00 crore), and Gliders India Limited (INR 2.50 crore). The figures appear under Demand No. 21 (Capital Outlay on Defence Services) of the Notes on Demands for Grants, 2026-2027, published by the Ministry of Finance's Department of Economic Affairs.

The Fujian Provincial Development and Reform Commission issued Min Fagai Shuju [2026] No. 46, "Ten Measures to Strengthen the Cultivation of Digital-Economy Innovative Enterprises in Fujian Province," on 2026-01-30, implementing a national NDRC directive (Fagai Shuju [2025] No. 1154) at provincial level. The package bundles ten fiscal, financial, data-access and talent measures aimed at growing Fujian's roster of "unicorn" and "gazelle" digital enterprises from 89 (2020) to a targeted 500+ by 2027, with per-project subsidy caps ranging from RMB 500,000 up to RMB 10,000,000 across different tracks (trusted-data-space pilots, joint labs/tech-transfer platforms, digital-transformation demonstration projects capped at 30% of total project investment). The measure took effect on issuance and is in force through 2028-12-31 (GTA state-act revocation date).

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, via Governor Josh Shapiro's office and the Department of Community & Economic Development, assembled a $100 million public incentive package — up to $50 million via the PA Edge Tax Credit Program, a $25 million PA SITES (Strategic Investments to Enhance Sites) grant, a $25 million Pennsylvania First grant, and up to $5 million via the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) for workforce development — to secure a $3.5 billion private investment from Eli Lilly and Company, the company's first manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania. The 925,000-square-foot facility will be built at the Fogelsville Corporate Center in Upper Macungie Township, Lehigh County, to produce next-generation weight-loss medicines, creating at least 850 new jobs over five years. It is the largest life-sciences investment in Pennsylvania history.

The Hong Kong government launched the Pilot Innovation and Technology Accelerator Scheme (PITAS) on 29 January 2026, an HKD 180 million (approx. USD 23 million) matching-grant programme administered by the Innovation and Technology Commission. The scheme provides funding support on a one-to-two matching basis between the government and the applicant, capped at HKD 30 million per approved project, to attract professional innovation and technology (I&T) enterprise service providers with proven accelerator track records to set up startup-accelerator bases in Hong Kong. Applications close 30 April 2026.

On 27 January 2026 President Gabriel Boric presented Chile's National Critical Minerals Strategy (Estrategia Nacional de Minerales Críticos, NCMS) — the country's first horizontal critical-minerals governance framework, identifying 14 minerals as priorities for development and establishing five strategic pillars: production and diversification of critical minerals; responsible mining; development opportunities based on critical minerals; enabling capacities; and strategic international positioning. The strategy was developed through a multi-year participatory process coordinated through Cochilco and Sernageomin, involving a 16-member high-level advisory committee, 120 specialists from 56 institutions, regional workshops and a public consultation. It materially broadens Chile's mineral policy beyond the 2023 lithium-specific National Lithium Strategy to a cross-cutting framework that underpins future bilateral critical-minerals MOUs and positions Chile as a strategic raw-materials partner for the US, EU and Japan under their respective IRA/CRMA/GX supply-chain frameworks.

The US Department of Commerce published its final affirmative countervailing-duty (CVD) determination on animal feed-grade L-lysine from China (case C-570-216) on 23 July 2026, the companion subsidy proceeding to the parallel antidumping case (A-570-215) finalized the same day. Commerce found Heilongjiang Wanlirunda Biotechnology Co., Ltd. and Shouguang Golden-land Industry & Trading Co., Ltd. received countervailable subsidies at 82.11%, while Inner Mongolia Eppen Biotech Co., Ltd. and all other Chinese producers/exporters were assigned a 48.21% subsidy rate. The preliminary CVD determination, published 22 January 2026, set the initial cash-deposit rates and suspension of liquidation; the final determination confirmed and aligned the case with the AD final determination for a joint ITC injury vote.

China's Ministry of Finance, NDRC, People's Bank of China and National Financial Regulatory Administration jointly issued Cai Jin [2026] No. 2 on 2026-01-19, optimizing the central-fiscal interest-subsidy policy for equipment-renewal loans. The central government subsidizes 1.5 percentage points of loan principal interest on qualifying fixed-asset loans for equipment-renewal projects, capped at two years, and widens eligible sectors beyond traditional industrial/energy/transport/logistics categories to include construction, AI equipment, aerospace materials, agricultural facilities, cold-chain infrastructure and elderly-care equipment. It also folds bank-originated science-and-technology-innovation loans issued from 2026 (previously supported only via PBOC relending) into the fiscal interest-subsidy scope, and simplifies disbursement via a "pre-disbursement + settlement" mechanism across 26 participating banks. The policy runs through 2026-12-31, extendable.

China's Ministry of Finance, NDRC, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, People's Bank of China and National Financial Regulatory Administration jointly issued Cai Jin [2026] No. 4 on 2026-01-19, establishing a central-fiscal loan interest-subsidy scheme for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) operating in 14 designated industrial-chain and emerging-industry sectors. Eligible loans originated from 2026-01-01 receive a 1.5-percentage-point annual interest subsidy for up to two years, capped at RMB 50 million in principal per enterprise (maximum subsidy RMB 1.5 million per enterprise). The policy is tentatively set to run one year with a possible extension.

China's Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, People's Bank of China and National Financial Regulatory Administration jointly issued Cai Jin [2026] No. 5 on 2026-01-19, optimizing the service-sector loan interest-subsidy policy first launched in August 2025 (Cai Jin [2025] No. 81). The notice extends the scheme through 2026-12-31, raises the per-entity eligible new-loan cap for 2026 to RMB 10 million (subsidy period capped at one year, annual subsidy rate of 1 percentage point, funded 90% by central and 10% by provincial finances), and widens covered sectors from the original eight (catering/accommodation, health, eldercare, childcare, domestic services, culture/entertainment, tourism, sports) to add digital, green and retail categories. It also expands the roster of handling banks to a longer list of state and joint-stock commercial banks.

The People's Bank of China announced on 2026-01-15 that it is widening the scope of its Carbon Emission Reduction Support Tool (碳减排支持工具) to cover energy-saving retrofits, green upgrades, and energy green low-carbon transformation projects with direct carbon-reduction effects. The tool operates on a quarterly basis, providing one-year relending funds to financial institutions at below-market rates against qualifying green loans they extend, with total annual operation volume capped at CNY 800 billion (approximately USD 115 billion). PBOC sets each quarter's operation volume based on monetary-policy needs and financial institutions' actual lending to the newly-widened set of supported project categories.

The Government of Kazakhstan, under Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, launched a second-generation geological exploration programme allocating 240 billion tenge (~USD 500 million) over 2026–2028 across 20 projects covering approximately 100,000 km² at 1:50,000 scale in 11 regions (Akmola, Aktobe, Almaty, East Kazakhstan, Karaganda, Kostanay, North Kazakhstan, Mangystau, Turkistan, Abai, Ulytau). The programme targets copper, gold, lead, zinc, rare earth elements, barite, and bauxite deposits using aerogeophysical, geochemical, and seismic-exploration methods together with Earth remote-sensing data analysis. It represents a ~50% uplift over the USD 469 million invested cumulatively in geological exploration over the prior 15 years, and modernises Soviet-era 1:200,000-scale mapping to 1:50,000-scale resolution across priority areas of 30,000 km² annually. The programme directly peers Western critical- minerals supply-diversification efforts anchored by the November 2025 US–Kazakhstan Critical Minerals MOU and the EU–Kazakhstan Strategic Partnership Roadmap 2025–2026.

On 9 January 2026 Brazil's Ministry of Mines and Energy published Portaria nº 891/2026, opening a 30-day public consultation (closed 8 February 2026) on the draft Plano Nacional de Mineração 2050 (PNM 2050) — the principal 24-year long-range planning instrument for the Brazilian mineral sector covering 2026–2050. The draft plan is structured around three foundational pillars: sustainability and social value in mining; responsible exploitation of mineral resources; and strategic governance. PNM 2050 is the second-generation successor to the PNM-2010 (2010–2030) and serves as the sector-strategy umbrella above the research-investment PlanGEO 2026-2035 and the critical-mineral-specific PNMCE framework, covering the full breadth of Brazil's mineral economy in the world's fourth-largest mining jurisdiction.

On 9 January 2026, Société Nationale des Mines (SONAMINES SA), Cameroon's state mining company, launched an international call for expressions of interest to pre-select technical and financial partners for the development of the Nkamouna-Lomié cobalt-nickel-manganese project in East Region (Haut-Nyong department), with a submission deadline of 31 March 2026. The tender follows the Presidential Decree of 25 February 2025 withdrawing Mining Permit No. 33 from Geovic Cameroon SA (inactive since 2003) and transferring it to SONAMINES under Loi n°2023/014 portant Code Minier. The deposit holds an estimated 121 million tonnes of mineral resources at average grades of 0.23% Co, 0.65% Ni, and 1.35% Mn — one of the largest undeveloped cobalt-nickel-manganese assets in West/Central Africa — with initial investment estimates of approximately CFA 300 billion (~USD 490 million).

On 2 January 2026 the Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources concluded the 9th Exploration Licensing Round — the largest mining-licensing round in the Kingdom's history — by awarding 172 mining sites (including 76 sites cleared via multi-round public auction) to 24 companies and consortia drawn from 26 qualified bidders. The round covered over 24,000 km² spanning the Ad-Duwaihi/Nabitah gold belt (Riyadh region) and the Nuqrah and Sukhaybirah/As-Safra gold belts (Madinah and Qassim regions). Successful bidders committed over SAR 671 million of exploration spend in the first two years of their work programmes; total project investment across the round's awarded licences exceeds SAR 44 billion (~USD 11.7 bn) and represents a 220% YoY surge in licensing-round commitments versus the 2024 round. The round operationalises auction provisions of the 2020 Mining Investment Law (Royal Decree M/47) and is the first Saudi licensing round to formally include the Aramco-Ma'aden lithium JV (Manara Minerals) on the bidder side.

President Daniel Noboa signed Executive Decree 273 on 31 December 2025 (effective 1 January 2026), the most significant overhaul of Ecuador's mining regulation since the 2009 Mining Code. The decree amends the Reglamento General a la Ley de Minería to (i) replace the fixed 3–8% royalty range with a price-indexed sliding scale tied to a trailing three-year LME reference price, (ii) require all mining projects to supply 100% of their electricity needs (no grid draw), (iii) tighten exploration-phase timelines and introduce automatic extinction of concessions where activities do not begin in time, (iv) modify royalty-deduction rules so gold/silver royalties are computed on gross revenue without deductions while small/medium operators of other metals can still deduct refining/transport/benefit costs, and (v) allocate 60% of mining royalties to social projects via decentralised governments (45% provincial, 35% municipal, 20% parochial). The decree was published in Registro Oficial Suplemento 195 of 31 December 2025 and is not retroactive.

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.

On 30 December 2025 the General Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government issued Hufubangui [2025] No. 20, a three-year action plan (1 January 2026 - 31 December 2028) to support the transformation and upgrading of advanced manufacturing. The plan sets quantitative targets — 100 new manufacturing enterprises with annual output above CNY 1 billion by 2028 (cumulative 600+), 500 new above-designated-size supply-chain enterprises, 100+ new national-level green factories, a robot density of 600 units per 10,000 workers, and 70%+ digital-equipment penetration — across next-generation electronics, intelligent connected new-energy vehicles, high-end equipment, advanced materials, green low-carbon and fashion consumer-goods industries, plus emerging bets on the low-altitude economy, commercial aerospace, embodied intelligence (robotics) and biomanufacturing. It is funded through tiered direct subsidies rather than tax relief: one-off R&D subsidies up to CNY 10 million, equipment/new-materials cost-share up to 30% of contract value (capped at CNY 20 million), technical- transformation loan/leasing interest support up to CNY 20 million cumulative, and 0.8-1.3% interest subsidies on component/material backup-inventory financing.

The Huadu District Government Office in Guangzhou (Guangdong Province) issued "Measures for Promoting High-Quality Development of New Energy and Intelligent Connected Vehicle Industries" (花府办规〔2025〕11号), effective upon issuance on 31 December 2025 for a two-year term. The package covers R&D-platform grants (up to RMB 100m per enterprise), model-promotion subsidies (up to RMB 50m per model), an L4+ autonomous-vehicle fleet-scale bonus (up to RMB 20m per enterprise), core-component investment rebates (1% of qualifying investment ≥RMB 50m, capped at RMB 300m), battery-production scale bonuses (up to RMB 60m for 5GWh+ output), at least RMB 200m for a "vehicle-road-cloud" integrated pilot zone (200+ autonomous vehicles, ~2,000 OBU retrofits), per-enterprise autonomous-fleet-operation subsidies (up to RMB 200m for qualifying passenger/cargo fleets), preferential industrial-land pricing (minimum 70% of benchmark rate), and facility-cost subsidies (up to RMB 150m/year for 3-5 years). It is a sub-provincial, district-level instrument implementing national NEV industrial-policy and the 2025-2026 Automobile Industry Stabilization and Growth Work Plan at the local level.

On 26 December 2025 the President of Kazakhstan signed a law amending the Code "On Subsoil and Subsoil Use" with respect to the hydrocarbon and uranium sectors, followed on 30 December 2025 by a parallel set of amendments implementing presidential instructions on broader subsoil-use governance. Both packages take effect on 2 March 2026. The uranium amendments grant the National Atomic Company Kazatomprom (KAP) a statutory priority right to obtain exploration licences over prospective uranium areas listed in the State Subsoil Fund Management Programme, and to reserve blocks containing uranium mineralisation or deposits. Where uranium mineralisation is discovered on a solid-mineral block held by a third-party subsoil-user, an extension of that licence is conditional on the licensee surrendering the uranium-bearing block to the State; private subsoil-users no longer obtain priority production rights for uranium they discover. The amendments also raise the minimum direct or indirect Kazatomprom interest in any uranium mining project from 50% to 75%, and permit subsequent transfer to investors or joint-venture partners only subject to that 75% floor. The 30 December 2025 package establishes the National Geological Service as a non-privatisable national operator subordinate to the authorised subsoil-exploration agency and as the operator responsible for managing geological information; it also creates a Unified Subsoil Use Platform digital infrastructure (open geological-information database integrated with the Unified State System for Management of the Fuel and Energy Complex). The hydrocarbon track of the law shortens block-reservation periods and pushes unallocated plots into electronic-auction allocation to accelerate competitive exploration. The amendments accompany an announced USD 500m state geological-exploration programme.

On 26 December 2025 the Peruvian executive promulgated and published in El Peruano Ley N° 32537, modifying Decreto Legislativo 1293 to extend the Registro Integral de Formalización Minera (REINFO) — Peru's artisanal-and-small-scale mining formalisation registry — through 31 December 2026, or until the new MAPE Law and its regulations enter into force, whichever occurs first. The statute is the parent instrument above DS 009-2025-EM (May 2025) and pushes the formalisation regime — which previously had a 30 June 2025 sunset under Ley 32213 — out by another 18 months. It also (i) orders a national MAPE census run by INEI, MINEM and INGEMMET (to begin within six months and conclude within twelve), (ii) requires REINFO registrants to declare real operational coordinates within 120 days via the Ventanilla Única de Formalización Minera, (iii) compels regional governments to transfer their formalisation paper and digital archives to MINEM within 60 days, and (iv) directs SUNAFIL to issue payroll-compliance verification rules for REINFO holders within 60 days. The law affects ~80,000+ artisanal and small-scale miners and is the statutory ceiling under which Peru's gold and copper-concentrate export chain operates.

Shandong Province's provincial government General Office issued Notice 鲁政办字〔2025〕183号 on 26 December 2025 ("Notice on Several Measures for Fiscal Support of the Integrated Development of Education, Science and Technology, and Talent"), a package of 30 fiscal-support measures running through end-2028. The measures fund R&D grants (up to RMB 30 million for major academician-led projects), talent awards (up to RMB 5 million per person), university-enterprise collaboration funding (up to RMB 15 million/project), an R&D-spend rebate (up to RMB 5 million/year per firm), and a 40%-of-interest subsidy (capped at RMB 500,000 per loan) for bank loans financing technology-achievement commercialization, plus co-financed non-performing-loan risk compensation of up to 90% on those loans. Global Trade Alert logged the interest-payment-subsidy component as a separate intervention tagged with generic extractive-sector codes (coal, crude petroleum, uranium) that do not correspond to any sector language in the underlying notice — the actual measures are horizontal, applying across education, R&D and technology-commercialization activity rather than to any named industry.

On 25 December 2025 Shanghai's Huangpu District Science and Technology Commission and Investment Promotion Office jointly issued Huangkeweigui [2025] No. 3, "Several Measures of Huangpu District on Promoting Brain-Computer Interface Innovation and Transformation Services (Trial)" (informally the "BCI Service 10 Provisions"), effective 24 January 2026 and valid through 31 December 2027. The measures subsidize BCI core- technology R&D and district co-funding of national/municipal projects (up to CNY 2m, 1:1 district match), shared innovation-platform construction (up to 30% of investment, capped CNY 2m), registered medical-device commercialisation (up to 40% of R&D cost, capped CNY 5m/ year per entity), application-demonstration scenarios (up to 30% of investment, capped CNY 2m), enterprise-growth and unicorn/gazelle recognition rewards (CNY 20k-100k), industrial-park operator support (up to CNY 2m/year), equity-financing support (up to 10% of R&D cost, capped CNY 2m, for firms with ≥CNY 20m in equity funding), and international BCI conference/event sponsorship (up to 30%, capped CNY 500k).

On 25 December 2025 Shanghai's Huangpu District Science and Technology Commission and Investment Promotion Office jointly issued Huangkeweigui [2025] No. 2, "Several Measures on Focusing on Translational Medicine to Accelerate Industry-Medicine Integration Innovation and Development," effective 30 days after promulgation (4 February 2026 per Global Trade Alert tracking) and valid through 31 December 2027. The measures subsidize cell-and-gene therapy, mRNA, synthetic biology, regenerative medicine and digital-medicine R&D (up to CNY 2m/year per entity), platform/lab construction (up to 30% of investment, capped at CNY 2m), use of the district's translational-medicine national science facility (up to 50% of annual usage fee, capped at CNY 1m), and domestic Class 1 new-drug clinical trials (Phase I up to CNY 2m, Phase II up to CNY 5m, capped at CNY 50m/year per entity), plus annual support for biopharma industrial- park operators (up to CNY 2m/year).

Zambia enacted the Income Tax (Amendment) (No. 2) Act No. 17 of 2025, assented to 23 December 2025 and effective 1 January 2026, introducing two mining-specific fiscal provisions. First, interest deductibility is capped at 30% of tax EBITDA for all companies, with unrelieved interest carry-forwardable for up to five years (general) or ten years for entities in mining and electricity generation. Second, mining companies deriving at least 75% of gross income in foreign exchange from outside Zambia may maintain their books of accounts in US dollars, reducing FX translation risk for dollar-denominated operators. Both measures are structurally distinct from the concurrent Act No. 10 of 2025 (Minimum Alternative Tax and loss carry-forward cap).

The European Investment Bank signed a EUR 75 million loan with AMAG Austria Metall AG on 19 December 2025 (publicly announced 23 February 2026), financing research, development, digitalisation and environmental-sustainability upgrades at AMAG's aluminium plant in Ranshofen, Upper Austria. The credit is the first EIB operation in Austria under its new TechEU programme (accelerating industrial innovation in Europe) and benefits from InvestEU programme backing. It contributes to a wider AMAG investment programme with total projected costs of EUR 168 million over 2025-2028, and the EIB explicitly frames the financing as advancing the EU objective of a sustainable, diversified and stable supply of critical raw materials, including aluminium.

Arrêté ministériel n° 00964/CAB.MIN/MINES/01/2025, signed 19 December 2025 by DRC Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba, suspends with immediate effect all activities of entities (notably comptoirs d'achat / buying counters, treatment units and similar structures) involved in the purchase, processing, transformation and commercialisation of copper and cobalt minerals sourced from artisanal exploitation across the country. Industrial, legally established mining operators are excluded. The order requires affected entities to submit compliance documentation within ten days, establishes an ad hoc commission to verify administrative, legal, technical and traceability conformity (15-day review window), and obliges operators to demonstrate the lawful origin of their supplies in line with OECD due-diligence guidance. Framed as a "conservatory" measure to restore order in the cupro-cobaltifère value chain and curb illicit exports.

The Agencia Nacional de Minería (ANM) of Colombia formally launched the Ronda Minera Cobre on 15 December 2025, opening a competitive selection process for 14 Áreas Estratégicas Mineras (AEM) across Antioquia, Cesar, La Guajira, and Tolima targeting copper, gold, and polymetallic minerals. The round operates under Contratos Especiales de Exploración y Explotación (CEEE) and operationalises the strategic-minerals designation framework established by ANM Resolución 1006 and Decreto 0977/2024, converting those prior designations into an active tender vehicle for the first time under the Petro government. Each of the 14 AEM blocks was front-loaded with geological certification, environmental viability sign-off, and community-consultation status verification, substantially reducing the regulatory risk that historically has slowed Colombian mining project timelines; evaluation horizon is up to 10 months.

The European Commission approved on 15 December 2025 a EUR 408 million Spanish state aid scheme (SA.119880) under the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF), funded by the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), to support decarbonisation of manufacturing industry. The scheme funds direct grants — capped at EUR 200 million per company or project — for investments in electrification, switching to renewable or low-carbon hydrogen, waste heat recovery, and carbon capture, storage and utilisation (CCUS) across a wide range of sectors including chemicals, ceramics, paper and metallurgy. Aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to enterprises of all sizes, inside and outside the EU Emissions Trading System, and cannot finance increases in production capacity; Spain expects the scheme to deliver annual emissions savings of around 1.6 megatonnes of CO2, with beneficiary projects required to become operational within 60 months of the aid grant.

The US Department of Commerce awarded Crucible Metals, LLC — a subsidiary of South Korea's Korea Zinc — USD 210 million in direct CHIPS Incentives Program funding to build a smelter and critical-minerals processing facility in Clarksville, Tennessee. The facility, styled "Project Crucible," is an advanced replica of Korea Zinc's Onsan complex and is expected to cost roughly USD 6.6 billion in capital expenditure (USD 7.4 billion in total project financing), targeting first production in 2029. At full scale it is designed to produce 13 critical and strategic minerals — including gallium, germanium, antimony, indium, bismuth, tellurium, cadmium and palladium alongside roughly 300,000 tons/year of zinc, 200,000 tons/year of lead and 35,000+ tons/year of copper. As a condition of the award, Korea Zinc committed to give the US government and US customers priority access to its existing Korean-refined output of 10 critical minerals beginning in 2026, and the project separately secured conditional Department of War (Office of Strategic Capital) loan support and FAST-41 covered-project permitting status.

The Government of Ontario launched the Critical Minerals Processing Fund (CMPF), a CAD 500 million (~USD 364 million) provincial financial-support program to accelerate processing and refining capacity for critical minerals mined in the province, administered through Invest Ontario. The fund targets nickel, graphite, copper, cobalt and lithium, with a geographic emphasis on the Ring of Fire region northeast of Thunder Bay, and is intended to keep Ontario-mined minerals processed domestically rather than exported raw. It complements a separate CAD 3.1 billion package of loans, guarantees, grants and scholarships supporting Indigenous participation in the province's critical-minerals supply chain, and was first flagged in Ontario's 2025 Budget.

On 12 December 2025 the Finnish Parliament (Eduskunta) approved Act 1361/2025, amending the Mining Minerals Tax Act (kaivosmineraalivero- laki, Act 314/2023) on the basis of government bill HE 127/2025. The amendment raises the value-based royalty on taxable metals contained in mined metallic ores from 0.6% to 2.5% (a 4.2× increase) and lifts the tonnage royalty on industrial minerals and other useful rock from €0.20 to €0.60 per tonne (3× increase). Iron is newly added to the list of taxable metals (alongside silver, gold, cobalt, chromium, copper, lithium, nickel, lead, palladium, platinum, uranium and zinc). Tax revenue is split 80% to the state and 20% to mining municipalities. The amendment enters into force on 1 January 2026.

The Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (BDA, also known as Yizhuang) Management Committee issued Notice 京技管发〔2025〕33号 on 9 December 2025 ("Several Measures to Accelerate the Cultivation of the Future Energy Industry"), effective through 31 December 2028. The package subsidises R&D, shared technology platforms, industrialisation projects and demonstration deployment across new-type energy storage (solid-state batteries, supercapacitors, flow batteries), clean-energy generation (advanced wind, perovskite solar, hydrogen production/storage), low-carbon transition tech (CCUS, smart grid control) and fusion energy (magnetic and inertial confinement). R&D support runs up to 30% of annual enterprise R&D spend; demonstration-scenario procurement is subsidised up to 30% of cost capped at RMB 500,000 per project; first-of-kind product recognition pays up to RMB 150,000 per project per year. Global Trade Alert logged the underlying state act (95719) as a single "state aid, unspecified" intervention (151443).