Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2667 actions· ✨ 89 recent

Presidential decree signed by President Claudia Sheinbaum and published in the evening edition of the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 23 April 2026, in force 24 April 2026. The decree amends the Tariff of the Ley de los Impuestos Generales de Importación y de Exportación (LIGIE/TIGIE) and the Decreto que establece diversos Programas de Promoción Sectorial (PROSEC), imposing MFN import duties at 5%, 10%, 15%, 25%, 30% or 35% ad valorem on 185 tariff fractions covering chemical products, cosmetics, paper and cardboard, textiles, steel, graphic arts, aluminum manufactures, auto parts, electrical material, bicycles, musical instruments, furniture, wind turbines, and trailers. Goods originating in countries with which Mexico has a free-trade agreement remain eligible for preferential treatment, so practical incidence falls on China and other non-FTA suppliers (Korea, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Brazil, Indonesia, Taiwan, UAE, South Africa). Paired PROSEC modifications add tariff fractions to Article 5 sections I, II.b and XIX (electrical, electronic, automotive and auto-parts industries) at exempt (EX) rates.

The US Department of Commerce published preliminary affirmative antidumping duty (AD) determinations on April 23, 2026 (Federal Register publication April 28, 2026), finding that crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells (whether or not assembled into modules) from India, Indonesia, and Laos are being sold in the US at less than fair value. Preliminary dumping margins are 123.04% for India, 35.17% for Indonesia, and 22.46% for Laos, with Commerce ordering US Customs and Border Protection to begin collecting AD cash deposits at those rates (107.77% adjusted cash-deposit rate for India; 22.06% for Laos). This runs parallel to, and stacks on top of, the CVD case on the same merchandise and countries (see responds_to), meaning combined AD+CVD cash-deposit burdens on subject imports now exceed 100% for all three origins. Final AD determinations are due July 13, 2026 (India, Indonesia) and September 9, 2026 (Laos).

On 21 April 2026, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal issued a final injury finding in Inquiry NQ-2025-005, determining that the dumping of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) originating in or exported from Mexico, the Philippines, Türkiye, and South Korea has caused material injury to the domestic Canadian steel industry. Anti- dumping duties are payable on imports released by CBSA on or after 21 April 2026 and remain in effect for five years. The US investigation was terminated separately.

Argentina's Ministerio de Economía issued Resolución 531/2026 on 20 April 2026, closing the changed-circumstances review under the anti-dumping regime of Resolución 915/2021 and excluding disassembled sports footwear with non-leather soles or uppers (HS 6401.10.00–6405.90.00) imported from China from the existing USD 15.70/pair minimum-FOB-value anti-dumping measure. The Comisión Nacional de Comercio Exterior (CNCE) recommended the exclusion following requests from domestic manufacturers Topper and Puma Sports Argentina, finding that high-performance sports footwear requires components and materials unavailable from domestic suppliers and that assembly operations add approximately 20% local value while supporting employment. The measure operationalises the Milei administration's deregulatory programme via a CNCE-mediated precedent for dismantling legacy protectionist AD measures without formal statutory repeal.

On 16 April 2026 the Korea Trade Commission (KTC), the trade-remedy authority operating under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), issued a preliminary affirmative determination in its anti-dumping investigation of Chinese-origin zinc and zinc-alloy coated cold-rolled steel products (thickness <4.75mm; HS 7210/7212 and certain 7225/7226 codes), and recommended provisional anti-dumping duties of 22.34% (Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Union), 26.28% (Shougang Jingtang United Iron & Steel), 33.67% (Winstone Development Ltd), and 25.75% (other Chinese suppliers). The duties remain in force pending a final determination expected around September 2026, with the Ministry of Economy and Finance to operationalise the rates by public notice. The investigation was petition-driven by Korean steelmakers (Dongkuk CM, KG Steel, SeAH CM) in November 2025, responding to a surge in Chinese galvanized cold-rolled imports following the US Section 232 50% steel tariff escalation that redirected Chinese supply to Korea and SE Asia.

On 13 April 2026 the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement, in trilogue with the Commission, on the new EU steel safeguard regulation that will replace the existing WTO-safeguard-based measure (Regulation (EU) 2019/159, last tightened by Implementing Regulation 2025/612) expiring on 30 June 2026. The agreement adopts the core architecture of the Commission's October 2025 proposal (procedure 2025/0726(COD)): an overall duty-free tariff-rate quota of approximately 18.3 million tonnes per year — a roughly 47% reduction versus the 2024 safeguard quotas — covering 30 product categories, with the out-of-quota customs duty raised from 25% to 50%. The deal also introduces a mandatory "country of melt and pour" declaratory requirement on steel imports and obliges the Commission to assess, within two years, whether the country of melt-and-pour should become the basis for country-specific TRQ allocations (closing transhipment loopholes that have allowed Chinese-melted steel to enter via third-country processors). The co-legislators added a reinforced and time-bound review mechanism: a first Commission review of product scope within six months of entry into force, with subsequent biennial scope reviews thereafter. Statutorily, this is a NEW instrument — a regulation adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure, not an implementing act under the WTO Agreement on Safeguards / Regulation (EU) 2015/478 — so it is filed as a new action with a `responds_to` link to the predecessor regime. Formal adoption by Council and EP plenary is expected in May 2026 ahead of the 1 July 2026 application date.

The European Commission adopted Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/801 on 9 April 2026, imposing provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of terephthalic acid (PTA, purity ≥99.5% by weight, CAS 100-21-0, CN code ex 2917 36 00 / TARIC 2917 36 00 11) originating in the Republic of Korea and Mexico, published in the OJ on 10 April 2026 and entering into force the following day. Duty rates are exporter-specific: Korean producers face 6.2% (Samnam Petrochemical, Hanwha Impact) to 13.7% (all other), with Taekwang Industrial Co. found not to be dumping (0%); all Mexican exporting producers face a flat 25.7%. The investigation was opened 13 August 2025 following a complaint by EU producer Ineos Aromatics.

Mexico's Secretaría de Economía published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 9 April 2026 the final resolution of the administrative sunset review (examen de vigencia) of the compensatory (anti-dumping) duty on imports of steel cable (cables de acero) originating in the People's Republic of China, regardless of country of consignment. The resolution maintains the definitive duty of USD 2.58 per kilogram for a further five years, counted from 17 December 2024 through December 2029. The measure covers tariff fractions 7312.10.01, 7312.10.05, 7312.10.07 and 7312.10.99, is collected by SHCP/SAT, and entered into force on 10 April 2026, the day after DOF publication.

On 7 April 2026 the Board (Collegium) of the Eurasian Economic Commission announced a definitive anti-dumping duty of 17.23% on imports of spark plugs originating in China, entering into force 30 calendar days after official publication (implemented 10 May 2026) across the EAEU customs union (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan). Annual duty-free import quotas are carved out for Armenia (500,000 units), Belarus (1.8 million units), Kazakhstan (6 million units) and Kyrgyzstan (500,000 units), subject to end-use licensing confirming the units are for motor vehicle manufacture or warranty service. The decision was adopted at the instruction of the EAEU Heads of Government to protect bloc manufacturers.

On 2 April 2026 President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ("Adjusting Imports of Pharmaceuticals and Pharmaceutical Ingredients into the United States") imposing a 100% ad valorem tariff on imports of patented pharmaceutical products listed in the FDA Orange Book and Purple Book, together with the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and key starting materials used to make them. The base rate takes effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on 31 July 2026 for the 17 manufacturers identified in Annex III, and on 29 September 2026 for all other companies. The proclamation adopts findings of the Section 232 investigation initiated by the Department of Commerce on 14 April 2025 into pharmaceuticals and APIs as a national- security supply-chain risk. The instrument is structured around a multi-tier rate ladder rather than a flat tariff: concessionary 15% rates for EU/Japan/South Korea/Switzerland/Liechtenstein under reciprocal-deal tracks, 10% for the UK with a pathway to 0% under the pending UK pharmaceutical agreement, a "+20%" surcharge for companies operating under a Commerce-approved onshoring plan (until 2 April 2030), and a 0% pathway for companies that combine an approved onshoring plan with an MFN-pricing agreement with HHS (until 20 January 2029). Generics, biosimilars and their ingredients, orphan drugs, nuclear medicines, plasma-derived therapies, fertility treatments, and cell/gene therapies are carved out.

Presidential Proclamation 11021 of 2 April 2026 (signed by President Trump, effective 6 April 2026 at 12:01 a.m. EDT, published 9 April 2026 at 91 FR 18201) consolidates and restructures the Section 232 tariff architecture for aluminum, steel, and copper. The proclamation modifies Proclamations 9704 (aluminum), 9705 (steel), and 10962 (copper) and applies tiered ad valorem duties to the full customs value of imported articles regardless of metal content: 50% on aluminum/steel articles and most copper articles; 25% on certain copper articles and on derivative articles substantially made of the three metals; 10% on derivative articles produced abroad using entirely US-smelted/cast metals; and 0% supplemental duty where existing tariffs already meet a 15% combined-rate floor. UK products receive preferential rates (25% on primary articles and 15% on certain derivatives) contingent on UK smelting/casting under the US–UK trade framework.

On 2 April 2026, Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade signed Decision 612/QĐ-BCT imposing a provisional anti-circumvention duty of 27.83% on hot-rolled steel coil/sheet (HRC) imports from China in widths above 1,880mm up to 2,300mm (thickness 1.2-25.4mm, ~24 HS codes under HS 7208 and 7226), effective 17 April 2026. The Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam found that Chinese exporters were widening HRC coils beyond the 1,880mm ceiling of Vietnam's existing definitive anti-dumping measure (Decision 1959/QĐ-BCT, case AD20) specifically to evade that duty, and the new measure extends the same 27.83% rate to the wider product range under a distinct anti-circumvention investigation (case AC03.AD20, initiated via Decision 3176/QĐ-BCT on 27 October 2025).

Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber Executive Committee (GECEX/CAMEX) imposed a five-year definitive antidumping duty on imports of ethanolamines (monoethanolamine and diethanolamine, NCM 2922.11.00 and 2922.12.00) originating from China, adopted at the 235th Ordinary GECEX meeting on 26 March 2026 and published in the Diário Oficial da União on 6 April 2026. Duty rates range from 23.6% (Sailboat Petrochemical, the sole cooperating exporter with an individual rate) to 97.3% (residual rate applying to all other Chinese exporters), protecting Oxiteno SA (Indorama Ventures subsidiary), the sole Brazilian producer, against material injury from dumped Chinese imports.

The European Commission adopted Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/734 of 26 March 2026, imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of synthetic continuous filament yarns of aliphatic polyamides (nylon yarn) originating in China, following an investigation initiated in July 2025. The duty entered into force on 28 March 2026, with a residual rate of 90.1% of the net free-at-Union-frontier price for non-cooperating exporters and individual company rates ranging from 57.7% to 67.1% for cooperating producers. The measure covers CN codes 5402 31 00, 5402 45 00, 5402 51 00 and 5402 61 00, and importers must post security deposits equal to the provisional duty to release goods for free circulation in the EU pending a definitive determination.

Brazil's Comitê-Executivo de Gestão da Câmara de Comércio Exterior (Gecex/Camex) approved Resolução Gecex Nº 876 on 13 April 2026 (DOU 14/04/2026), applying a definitive five-year antidumping duty on imports of polyethylene (PE) resins — NCM 3901.10.30, 3901.20.29, and 3901.40.00 — originating from the United States and Canada. The DECOM investigation, initiated on 14 November 2024 following a Braskem S.A. petition, found positive dumping margins and material injury to the domestic PE-resin industry; provisional duties were imposed under Resolução Gecex Nº 777 (28 August 2025) for six months. Gecex modulated the definitive rates to match provisional-period levels as a public-interest adjustment to limit additional cost pass-through to downstream packaging, agricultural-film, and container manufacturers.

South Africa's ITAC, acting on an application by ArcelorMittal South Africa and Columbus Stainless Steel, imposed definitive five-year anti-dumping duties on certain flat-rolled products of iron and steel (width ≥600 mm, HS 7208 and 7225 subheadings) from China (company-specific rates up to 47.92%), Japan (up to 57.23%) and Taiwan (24.20%), effective 19 March 2026 via SARS amendment to Schedule No. 2 of the Customs and Excise Act. The Commission found dumping from all three origins and material injury to the SACU regional industry (full findings in ITAC Report 767). Duties are layered on top of the existing 10% ordinary customs duty and 13% steel safeguard, substantially raising the landed cost of flat-rolled steel from Asia.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) initiated an anti-dumping investigation on 20 March 2026 into imports of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) originating in or exported from China PR and Russia (Initiation Notification No. 6/9/2026-DGTR), exercising powers under Rule 5 of the Anti-Dumping Rules 1995 and Sections 9A–9C of the Customs Tariff Act 1975. The investigation covers PTFE in all commercial forms — granular moulding powder, fine powder, and aqueous dispersion — under HS 3904.61, with the period of investigation (POI) set as April 2024 to September 2025 (18 months) and the injury investigation period spanning 2021-22 through the POI. The investigation was filed by Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited (GFL) and other Indian domestic fluoropolymer producers alleging material injury from dumped imports; Russia's scope is unusual for India DGTR and constitutes the first formal trade-remedy reading of Russia's PTFE export pricing.

South Africa's International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) recommended, and SARS implemented on 19 March 2026, definitive five-year anti-dumping duties on U, I and H sections of iron or non-alloy steel (structural steel, HS 7216.31, 7216.32, 7216.33 and 7216.40) imported from China (74.98%) and Thailand (20.32%). The investigation, initiated on an application by ArcelorMittal Rails and Structures (AMRAS), found dumped imports — totalling 28,800 tonnes in 2023/24, with China supplying ~65% — were causing material injury to the SACU domestic industry (full findings in ITAC Report 759). The definitive duties layer on top of an existing 10% ordinary customs duty and a 13% SACU-wide steel safeguard duty, bringing the effective total import burden on Chinese structural steel to approximately 98% above the base tariff.

India's DGTR issued final findings on 18 March 2026 recommending anti-dumping duties on cryogenic Liquefied Natural Gas Fuel Tanks (LFT) originating in or exported from China PR, after determining that Chinese-origin LFTs were being sold in India at dumped prices causing material injury to domestic manufacturers. The investigation was initiated in December 2024 following a petition by Inox India Ltd. The DGTR found price undercutting and suppression of domestic prices, with the Finance Ministry to issue the implementing customs notification.

The UK Finance Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 18 March 2026, establishes the primary statutory framework for the United Kingdom Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (UK CBAM), granting HM Revenue & Customs the assessment, collection, and enforcement powers needed to apply a carbon-content levy on imports of aluminium, cement, fertilisers, hydrogen, and iron & steel from 1 January 2027. Two tranches of draft secondary legislation (the CBAM Regulations 2026 covering administration, rate calculation/carbon-price relief, emissions and verification, and transitory provisions) were published for technical consultation on 10 February 2026 (closing 24 March 2026) and again in Spring 2026 (closing 21 May 2026). The mechanism imposes a UK ETS-linked benchmark price on the embedded carbon of in-scope imports, with a credit for verified third-country carbon prices already paid, and — unlike the EU CBAM — has no transitional reporting phase and a narrower initial sectoral scope (no electricity).

On 13 March 2026 USTR Jamieson Greer and Ecuador's Minister of Production, Foreign Trade and Investment Luis Alberto Jaramillo signed the United States–Ecuador Agreement on Reciprocal Trade in Washington, formalising the framework agreed in November 2025. Ecuador commits to preferential treatment for >90% of its agricultural schedule (including tariff elimination on soybeans, fresh/processed fruit, alcoholic beverages, tea, tree/ground nuts, dairy, beef, pork and poultry), to discontinue applying the Andean Price Band System to US-origin agricultural goods, to accept US remanufactured goods and US motor-vehicle safety/emissions standards, and to commit on digital-trade non-discrimination plus the multilateral moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions. The US in return grants MFN tariff treatment to qualifying Ecuadorian goods that "cannot be grown, mined, or naturally produced" in the US, by 1 August 2026 or entry into force (whichever is later). The Agreement enters into force 30 days after both parties notify completion of domestic procedures.

Brazil's Secretariat of Foreign Trade (SECEX) opened a formal antidumping investigation via Circular nº 18 (12 March 2026) into imports of machined graphite electrodes (NCM 8545.11.00, diameter ≥ 350 mm) from China and India, following a petition by GrafTech Brasil Participações Ltda (subsidiary of NYSE-listed GrafTech International / EAF). DECOM's preliminary assessment found indicative dumping margins of 54.9% for Chinese-origin and 57.3% for Indian-origin electrodes. The investigation covers assembled and unassembled electrodes used in electric-arc-furnace steelmaking, ferroalloy smelting, and metal-oxide reduction. A definitive antidumping duty of up to five years may result if DECOM confirms material injury and issues a positive final determination.

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.

The US Department of Commerce published its final affirmative determination of sales at less-than-fair-value in the antidumping investigation of animal feed-grade L-lysine (lysine) from China (case A-570-215) on 23 July 2026, following a preliminary determination published 6 March 2026 (91 FR 11030). Commerce found a China-wide weighted-average dumping margin of 139.83% (cash deposit rate 139.65% after subsidy-offset adjustment), based on adverse facts available after Commerce found Zhengzhou Longgu Trading Co., the sole company with a calculated margin, and the Eppen Group group of producers/exporters uncooperative and ineligible for a separate rate in the final determination. A group of separate-rate companies — including Anhui BBCA Biochemical, Heilongjiang Wanlirunda Biotechnology, and others exporting through trading intermediaries such as Agromate Sg, Ainore (Tianjin), and Aollen Biotech — received a 73.55% dumping margin (73.37% cash deposit rate). The order covers lysine regardless of form (HCl, sulfate, liquid) under HTSUS 2922.41.0090 and related subheadings. A companion countervailing-duty investigation (preliminary 22 January 2026, 91 FR 2745) was finalized the same day; suspension of liquidation runs from 6 March 2026, with a final AD order contingent on an ITC injury determination due within 45 days of the final LTFV finding.

On 1 May 2026 the trade pillar of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement (the "Interim Trade Agreement", iTA) entered provisional application between the European Union and the four Mercosur states — Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay — following its publication in the EU Official Journal on 27 February 2026 alongside the broader EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement (EMPA). The iTA covers goods (eliminating duties on more than 90% of bilateral trade over a transition period including immediate cuts on cars, pharmaceuticals, wine and olive oil), services, government procurement at federal and state level, intellectual property (344 EU geographical indications protected), SPS/TBT disciplines, and a sustainability chapter. Mercosur receives tariff-rate quotas on agri-food exports (beef, poultry, sugar, ethanol, honey). Provisional application proceeds pending full ratification of EMPA by the Council, European Parliament and all EU national parliaments and a pending CJEU opinion; only the trade pillar applies provisionally.

The US Department of Commerce published preliminary affirmative countervailing duty (CVD) determinations on February 26, 2026, finding that producers and exporters of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells (whether or not assembled into modules) from India, Indonesia, and Laos received countervailable government subsidies. Preliminary subsidy rates are 125.87% for India; 85.99%–143.30% by individual Indonesian producer (104.38% all-others rate); and a uniform 80.67% for Laos. Commerce ordered US Customs and Border Protection to begin collecting cash deposits at these rates on subject imports pending a parallel antidumping investigation and final determinations later in 2026. The case originated from a petition filed in August 2025 by US crystalline silicon PV manufacturers.

On 23 February 2026 the Korea Trade Commission (KTC) at its 461st plenary meeting adopted a final affirmative anti-dumping determination against hot-rolled carbon and alloy steel (HRC) imports from China and Japan, recommending definitive five-year duties of 28.16–33.10% on Chinese-origin HRC and 31.58–33.57% on Japanese-origin HRC to the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) for implementation via customs notification. The investigation was initiated in March 2024 on petition by Hyundai Steel, following December 2023 injury allegations, with provisional duties imposed in September 2025. KTC simultaneously recommended acceptance of price-undertaking commitments from three Japanese companies (including JFE Steel and Nippon Steel) and six Chinese companies (including Baosteel), allowing those exporters to avoid the definitive duties by maintaining minimum import-price levels; remaining non-participating exporters face the full duty rates under a five-year WTO ADA Article 11 sunset ending 2031.

Brazil's Câmara de Comércio Exterior (Gecex) published Resolução 857 in the Diário Oficial da União on 23 February 2026, reducing definitive anti-dumping duties on non-oriented electrical steel (aço GNO, NCM 7225.19.00 and 7226.19.00) originating in China, South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Germany. The measure follows a public-interest evaluation (avaliação de interesse público) concluded by SECEX/DECOM, which found that applying the full investigation-recommended duty level would create steel supply shortfalls and net welfare losses of approximately US$2.19 million, given that sole domestic producer Aperam South America cannot meet total Brazilian demand. New specific duties — US$90/ton for major named Asian producers, US$132.50/ton for other Asian exporters, and US$166.32/ton for German producers — are set below the DECOM recommendation and remain in force for the remainder of the 5-year window established by Gecex 758 of 10 July 2025 (expiring ~July 2030).

President Trump signed a Presidential Proclamation on 20 February 2026 invoking Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. § 2132) to impose a temporary 10% ad-valorem import surcharge on articles imported into the United States, effective 12:01 a.m. EST on 24 February 2026. The proclamation was issued within hours of the US Supreme Court's 20 February 2026 ruling in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, which held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize the president to set tariffs and vacated the IEEPA-based reciprocal-tariff regime previously in effect. The Section 122 surcharge is statutorily limited to 150 days (terminates 24 July 2026 absent Congressional extension) and the statute caps any such surcharge at 15% ad valorem. Goods qualifying as USMCA originating from Canada or Mexico are exempt; CAFTA-DR textile/apparel articles meeting specified rules of origin are exempt; and a substantial product-exception list excludes critical minerals, energy products, certain pharmaceuticals, electronics, vehicles, aerospace products, specified agricultural goods, and goods already subject to Section 232 duties (the Section 122 duty does not stack on Section 232).

Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber Executive Committee (GECEX/CAMEX) adopted Resolução GECEX nº 855 on 13 February 2026, imposing a five-year definitive antidumping duty on hypodermic needles (agulhas hipodérmicas) originating from China, classified under NCM tariff code 9018.32.19 (other tubular metal needles). The duty is collected as a specific tariff fixed in US dollars per thousand units, with rates ranging from USD 0.23 to USD 25.57/thousand units depending on the Chinese producer/exporter. The measure was published in the Diário Oficial da União (DOU Edição 32) on 18 February 2026, enters into force from publication, and marks the first medical-device trade-remedy action on the IPTM register. Scope exclusions cover insulin needles, biopsy needles, animal insemination needles, anesthesia needles, bulk non-sterile needles, and non-hypodermic needles.

Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber Executive Committee (GECEX/CAMEX) imposed a five-year definitive antidumping duty on imports of flat-rolled carbon steel products galvanized (by electrolytic or other process, except corrugated) or aluminium-coated — including aluminium-zinc and other metal-alloy coatings — originating in China, classified under fifteen NCM subheadings spanning 7210.30, 7210.49, 7210.61, 7210.69, 7212.20, 7212.30, 7225.91, 7225.92, 7225.99, and 7226.99. The resolution was adopted at GECEX's 234th ordinary meeting on 13 February 2026 and entered into force upon publication in the Diário Oficial da União (Edição 32) on 18 February 2026. Duties are applied as a specific tariff in USD per metric tonne, with individual rates for cooperating Chinese exporters and a residual rate for non-cooperating producers.

Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber Executive Committee (GECEX/CAMEX) adopted Resolução GECEX nº 854 on 12 February 2026, imposing a five-year definitive antidumping duty on cold-rolled flat carbon steel products originating from China, covering 14 NCM tariff headings under subheadings 7209.xx, 7211.xx, 7225.50.90, and 7226.92.00. The duty is collected as a specific tariff fixed in US dollars per metric tonne, following a Usiminas petition of 23 April 2024 alleging material injury to the domestic flat-steel industry from Chinese dumping. The measure was published in the Diário Oficial da União on 13 February 2026 (Edição 31, Seção 1, Pág. 5) and republished on 18 February 2026 (Edição 32) to correct errors in the Article 1 tariff table.

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 12 February 2026 the Korea Trade Commission (KTC) concluded a preliminary investigation into Chinese-origin butyl acrylate imports (HS subheading 2916.12) and voted to recommend provisional anti-dumping duties of 9.53–19.17% to the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF). MOEF formally decided and gazetted the provisional duty on 22 April 2026, effective from that date through 21 August 2026 pending the KTC's final determination (expected around July 2026). The case was initiated after LG Chem — the sole remaining domestic butyl acrylate producer — petitioned the KTC in July 2025, citing a roughly 25% rise in Chinese import volumes against a 30%+ drop in its own domestic sales volume between 2021 and 2024.

On 9 February 2026 USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer and Bangladesh Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin signed the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) between the United States and Bangladesh in Washington DC — USTR's first ART signing in South Asia, preceding the US-India interim-trade-framework finalisation by three days. The deal locks the US reciprocal tariff on Bangladesh-originating goods at 19% (down from 35% under the April 2025 IEEPA regime) and establishes a zero-percent mechanism for products on the Annex III aligned- partner list (EO 14346, 5 September 2025). Bangladesh commits to significant preferential market access for US industrial and agricultural goods — including chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, medical devices, ICT equipment, energy products, soy, dairy, beef, poultry, tree nuts, and fruit — and to eliminating specified non- tariff barriers including acceptance of US Federal motor-vehicle safety and emissions standards, FDA certificates, and prior marketing authorisations for medical devices and pharmaceuticals.

President Trump signed Executive Order 14382, "Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Iran," on 6 February 2026 (effective 12:01 a.m. EST on 7 February 2026; published in the Federal Register on 11 February 2026 as FR doc 2026-02813, 91 FR 6493-6496). Invoking IEEPA, the National Emergencies Act, section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974 and 3 U.S.C. § 301, the order declared a country-specific national emergency with respect to Iran and established a secondary-tariff-authority framework: an additional ad valorem duty (the EO offers "for example, 25 percent" as illustration but sets no binding rate) is authorised on imports of articles produced by any foreign country determined to directly or indirectly purchase, import, or otherwise acquire any goods or services from Iran. Determinations are made by the Secretary of Commerce, with rate recommendations from the Secretary of State in consultation with Treasury, DHS and USTR; the President retains final authority. EO 14382 was structurally modelled on EO 14245 (Venezuelan oil importing countries, 24 March 2025) and EO 14380 (Cuba, 29 January 2026), and was on the list of nine IEEPA-based tariff EOs whose tariff component was vacated by the SCOTUS 6-3 ruling in *Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump* (20 February 2026). The companion EO 14389 of 20 February 2026 ("Ending Certain Tariff Actions") extinguished the tariff authority for entries on or after 12:00 a.m. ET on 24 February 2026; the underlying Iran national- emergency declaration was preserved. No third-country determination or specific rate was operationalised under EO 14382 prior to vacatur.

On 6 February 2026 Presidents Trump and Modi announced a framework for an Interim Trade Agreement that resets the bilateral tariff posture installed in 2025. Two operative instruments: (i) an executive order signed 6 February eliminating, effective 7 February 2026, the additional 25% IEEPA "Russian-oil" duty on Indian imports imposed by EO 14329 (27 August 2025), conditional on India's commitment to cease buying Russian crude and to expand defence cooperation; and (ii) reduction of the EO 14257 reciprocal-tariff rate on India from 25% to 18% on listed product categories (textiles and apparel, leather and footwear, plastics and rubber, organic chemicals, home décor, artisanal products, certain machinery), to take effect on finalisation of the Interim Agreement. India commits to eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of agricultural products (DDGs, red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine, spirits) and to purchase >USD 500bn of US energy, ICT, coal, aircraft and aircraft parts, and precious-metals products over five years. The framework also commits the parties to negotiating "robust, ambitious, and mutually beneficial digital trade rules" and to addressing non-tariff barriers in medical devices, ICT import licensing, and food/agricultural standards. US tariff reductions on Indian generic pharmaceuticals, gems, diamonds, aircraft parts, and certain automotive components are flagged as contingent on completion of the full Interim Agreement.

Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber executive committee (GECEX) issued Resolution No. 852, dated 4 February 2026 and published in the Diário Oficial da União on 5 February 2026, amending Annex VI of Resolução Gecex nº 272/2021 — the instrument that adapted Brazil's Common Mercosur Nomenclature (NCM) and Common External Tariff (TEC) to the 2022 Harmonized System revision. The measure realigns applied tariffs on roughly 1,249 NCM codes under the IT/telecom (LEBIT) and capital-goods (BK) special-tariff exception lists, per secondary reporting raising codes currently taxed below a 7.2% floor up to that rate, with other affected lines moving to higher bracket rates (reported figures include 12.6%, 20%, and other tiers depending on product). Aeronautical-sector products are explicitly excluded from the recomposition (Art. 2). Global Trade Alert classifies the measure as a "Red" (trade-restrictive) import tariff intervention.

The Canada Border Services Agency initiated an anti-dumping investigation (Case OCTG6 2026 IN) on 2 February 2026 into oil and gas well casing originating in or exported from Austria, following a complaint by Tenaris Canada. On 4 May 2026 the CBSA issued a preliminary determination finding a dumping margin of 22.6% of export price for Voestalpine Tubulars GmbH & Co KG, the sole named Austrian exporter, but declined to impose provisional duties, assessing that they were "not necessary to prevent injury." The case covers oil and gas well casing under 28 HS tariff classification codes (7304.29.00.12-.29 and 7306.29.00.12-.29). The Canadian International Trade Tribunal's parallel injury inquiry (NQ-2026-002) is due to conclude by 1 September 2026; only a positive injury finding triggers definitive duties.

On 1 February 2026 India's Ministry of Finance tabled the Finance Bill 2026 alongside Customs Notifications 01/2026 to 03/2026-Customs, restructuring the customs tariff schedule across hundreds of HS lines. Duty rates rise on a range of consumer and finished-goods lines (e.g. umbrellas: 20% to "20% or ₹60/piece, whichever is higher"; potassium hydroxide: 0% to 7.5%; INVAR steel: 5% to 7.5%; radio-trunking parts: 5% to 15%; video-game parts: 5% to 20%) while falling on nuclear and renewable-energy inputs (fuel elements and control/absorber rods for nuclear reactors: 7.5% to 0%; sodium antimonate for solar glass: 7.5% to 0%) and on personal-use dutiable imports under heading 9804 (20% to 10%, effective 1 April 2026). Roughly 80 exemptions previously granted by standalone notification are being written into the First Schedule of the Customs Tariff Act at unchanged rates, effective 1 May 2026 — converting administratively-reversible exemptions into statutory ones.

Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber Executive Committee (GECEX/CAMEX) imposed a five-year definitive antidumping duty on imports of pre-painted flat-rolled carbon steel products (coated on one or both faces with paint or varnish, supplied in coils, rolls or sheets; commonly called "aço pré-pintado") originating in China and India, classified under NCM codes 7210.70.10, 7210.70.20 (width ≥600 mm) and 7212.40.10, 7212.40.21, 7212.40.29 (width <600 mm). The measure was adopted at the 233rd extraordinary GECEX meeting on 30 January 2026 chaired by MDIC Minister Geraldo Alckmin and entered into force upon publication in the Diário Oficial da União (Edição 22, Seção 1, Pág. 1) on 2 February 2026. This is the first definitive AD imposition of 2026 in Brazil's accelerating defensive posture against Chinese and Indian steel overcapacity in downstream processed categories.

India's DGFT issued Notification No. 56/2025-26 on 29 January 2026, amending the import policy under Chapter 29 of ITC (HS) 2022 to impose minimum import prices (MIPs) on three antibiotic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs): Penicillin G-potassium (₹2,216/kg CIF), Amoxycillin trihydrate (₹2,733/kg CIF), and 6-Aminopenicillanic Acid/6-APA (₹3,405/kg CIF). Imports below these price floors are reclassified from "Free" to "Restricted" status, requiring a DGFT import authorisation before Customs clearance. The measure takes immediate effect and is valid for approximately ten months (until 30 November 2026), with an implied renewal pathway. It is explicitly aimed at preventing very-low-priced imports and supporting domestic manufacturers built under the PLI Bulk Drugs scheme, targeting China's dominant position in global antibiotic-fermentation supply.

President Trump signed Executive Order 14380, "Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Cuba," on 29 January 2026 (effective 12:01 a.m. EST on 30 January 2026; published in the Federal Register on 3 February 2026 as FR doc 2026-02250, 91 FR 5085-5089). Invoking IEEPA and the National Emergencies Act, the order declared a country-specific national emergency with respect to Cuba, citing Havana's intelligence and defense alignment with Russia, the PRC, Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah — including the Russian signals-intelligence facility hosted on the island. The operative measure was a secondary-tariff-authority framework: the EO authorises additional ad valorem duties on goods imported from any country determined to be selling or otherwise providing oil to the Government of Cuba, whether directly or indirectly. No specific rate was set in the EO itself — rate-setting was delegated to the Secretary of Commerce (in consultation with State, Treasury, DHS and USTR). The EO was structurally analogous to EO 14245 (Venezuelan oil importing countries, 24 March 2025) and was on the list of nine IEEPA-based tariff EOs whose tariff component was vacated by the SCOTUS 6-3 ruling in *Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump* (20 February 2026); the underlying Cuba national-emergency declaration was preserved by the 20 February 2026 "Ending Certain Tariff Actions" EO, but the tariff authority was extinguished before any third-country determination or rate was operationalised.

The US Department of Commerce preliminarily determined that oleoresin paprika from India is being sold in the United States at less than fair value, setting estimated weighted-average dumping margins of 3.33% for Mane Kancor Ingredients Private Ltd, 5.66% for Synthite Industries Pvt. Ltd, and 4.60% for all other Indian exporters (period of investigation: 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2025). Commerce made a preliminary negative critical-circumstances finding and, because it offsets antidumping cash deposits by the export-subsidy rate already countervailed in the companion CVD proceeding, the effective cash-deposit rate for all three respondent tiers is currently 0.00%. Suspension of liquidation applies to covered entries from the notice's 2026-04-02 publication date; this is the antidumping companion to the CVD preliminary determination filed 2026-02-06 in this register.

On 2026-01-26 the US Department of Commerce initiated antidumping (LTFV) and countervailing duty investigations covering van-type trailers and subassemblies thereof from Canada, China, and Mexico, following a petition filed 2025-11-20 by the American Trailer Manufacturers Coalition (Great Dane, Stoughton Trailers, Wabash National). On 2026-06-15 Commerce issued its preliminary affirmative LTFV determination for China, setting a preliminary antidumping duty rate of 130.76% on Chinese van-type trailer imports, effective on publication and triggering CBP duty collection at the border. Companion countervailing-duty and Canada/Mexico proceedings are tracked separately.

On 2026-01-26 the US Department of Commerce initiated countervailing duty (anti-subsidy) investigations covering van-type trailers and subassemblies thereof from Canada, China, and Mexico, companion to the antidumping investigation covering the same product and countries. On 2026-06-05 Commerce published preliminary affirmative CVD determinations: China received an 82.37% subsidy rate for CIMC Baowell Industries/Qingdao CIMC Reefer Trailer and all other exporters, and a 128.78% adverse-inference rate for non-responsive companies; Mexico received rates of 1.90-1.95% for cooperating respondents (Hyundai de Mexico, Utility Trailer Manufacturing de México) and a 62.67% adverse-inference rate for five non-responsive companies. The Canada CVD investigation was terminated on 2026-05-27 after the petitioner withdrew that portion of the petition. Cash deposits at the preliminary rates began on Federal Register publication; final CVD determinations are scheduled for 2026-08-24 (China) and 2026-10-13 (Mexico).

On 26 January 2026 Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Circular No. 04/2026/TT-BCT, setting the 2026 in-quota tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for raw-tobacco imports (HS 2401) at 79,199 tonnes, a roughly 5% increase over the 2025 quota of 75,427 tonnes. The circular took effect 15 March 2026 and runs through 31 December 2026, with allocation administered via import licences under Decree No. 69/2018/NĐ-CP and Circular No. 12/2018/TT-BCT. The annual increase follows Vietnam's WTO tariff-rate-quota commitment schedule for raw tobacco rather than a discretionary policy shift.

Brazil's Câmara de Comércio Exterior (Gecex) approved Resolução nº 846, de 15 de janeiro de 2026, amending Annexes IV and V of the base tariff-nomenclature resolution (Gecex nº 272/2021) to modify import tariffs and tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) on 15 products, effective 21 January 2026. The resolution establishes ten new temporary duty-free TRQs for products including atrazine (NCM 2933.69.13, quota reduced) and liquid food preparations (NCM 2106.x), reduces the in-quota volume for two existing TRQ lines, and raises the import tariff on three chemical products — acetic acid, acrylonitrile, and a third L-series primary chemical — reverting them from preferential to standard Mercosur Common External Tariff (TEC) treatment. The measure is a routine periodic tariff-schedule maintenance action in the same recurring Gecex 272/2021 TRQ-housekeeping series as Resoluções 799/2025, 815/2025, 821/2025 and 844/2025, rather than a trade-remedy or policy-driven restriction.

The US Department of Commerce issued affirmative preliminary countervailing duty (CVD) determinations on hardwood and decorative plywood from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam, finding countervailable government subsidies in all three countries. Preliminary subsidy rates are 81.34% for China, 2.40% to 128.66% for Indonesia (case-by-case, non-cooperating producer PT Mustika Buana Sejahtera at the top of the range), and 4.37% to 26.75% for Vietnam. Commerce published the determinations in the Federal Register on 22 January 2026, triggering CBP collection of cash deposits at these rates pending final determinations. A parallel antidumping (AD) investigation on the same product and countries runs on a separate track (see responds_to) with preliminary AD margins of 187.27% (China), up to 84.94% (Indonesia), and 196.14% (Vietnam) announced 25 February 2026 — AD and CVD duties stack cumulatively.

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.