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

Via Department Administrative Order (DAO) No. 26-03, series of 2026, signed on 20 May 2026, the Philippine DTI removed China and Indonesia from the list of developing countries exempt from the definitive general safeguard measure on ordinary Portland cement (Type 1) and blended cement, imposing a safeguard duty of PHP 349 per metric tonne (≈ US$6.09/t; PHP 14 per 40 kg bag) on imports from those two origins for three years. The removal follows the Philippine Tariff Commission's monitoring, which found China's share of total cement imports rising from 11% in 2025 to 23% in Q1 2026 and Indonesia's from 6% to 8% over the same period — both exceeding the 3% de minimis threshold that conferred exemption under the parent DAO 25-15. The underlying definitive safeguard, covering all non-exempt origins, first took effect in February 2026 following a serious-injury determination by the Tariff Commission.

The US Department of Commerce published its final affirmative determination in the less-than-fair-value (LTFV) antidumping investigation of polypropylene corrugated boxes from Vietnam (Federal Register doc 2026-10109, published 20 May 2026), finding that all Vietnamese producers/exporters constitute a single Vietnam-wide entity subject to a 130.58% AD rate based solely on Adverse Facts Available (AFA) due to non-cooperation. Commerce also issued a final affirmative determination of critical circumstances, triggering retroactive provisional-measures liability on entries made during the 90-day look-back period. The period of investigation covered 1 July 2024 through 31 December 2024; the ITC must issue its final injury determination within 45 days for an AD order to take effect.

Australia's Anti-Dumping Commission (ADC) published a definitive countervailing (anti-subsidy) duty of 4.5% on imports of steel corner/finishing beading and angles from China, effective 8 May 2026, under Case 677. The investigation was initiated 30 May 2025 following an application from domestic manufacturer Rondo Building Services Pty Ltd, covering metallic-coated corner beading and angles up to 0.49mm base metal thickness under HS codes 7216.61.00, 7216.69.00, 7216.91.00, 7216.99.00 and 7308.90.00. A companion definitive anti-dumping duty of 27.8% on the same product from non-cooperative Chinese exporters was imposed under the same case.

Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber Executive Committee (GECEX/CAMEX) published Resolução nº 892 on 7 May 2026 (DOU 8 May 2026), modifying the definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of metallic magnesium in crude forms (magnésio metálico em formas brutas, NCM 8104.11.00 and 8104.19.00) originating in China — originally imposed by Resolução GECEX nº 253 of 24 September 2021. The modification converts the duty collection mechanism to a specific tariff fixed in US dollars per kilogram (alíquota específica fixada em dólares estadunidenses por quilograma), based on Parecer SEI nº 258/2026/MDIC, and was deliberated at GECEX's 236th Ordinary Meeting on 30 April 2026. China accounts for approximately 85% of global primary magnesium production; magnesium is designated a critical material under both CRMA Annex I and the USGS Critical Minerals List, serving as an essential input to aluminium alloys for automotive and aerospace lightweighting and to steel desulphurisation. This resolution is a NEW action on the IPTM register — the original 2021 AD measure (GECEX nº 253) was not previously filed — capturing the current in-force duty alteration as the operative instrument.

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

Colombia's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (MINCIT) imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of annealed wire (alambre recocido) and galvanized wire (alambre galvanizado) originating in the People's Republic of China via Resolución No. 214 de 2026, published in the Diario Oficial. The measures apply as an ad valorem surcharge on the FOB value declared to DIAN and are valid for four months while the Subdirección de Prácticas Comerciales continues its investigation toward a definitive determination or archival. The investigation was initiated under Resolución No. 097 of 6 February 2026 and found significant dumping margins: annealed wire at USD 617.03/t FOB vs. a normal value of USD 796.51/t; galvanized wire at USD 674.67/t FOB vs. a reference value of USD 1,336.63/t (Italy benchmark).

Brazil's Secretariat of Foreign Trade (SECEX) issued Circular nº 33 on 29 April 2026, confirming a preliminary affirmative determination of dumping and material injury to the Brazilian domestic industry in imports of hot-rolled stainless steel flat products (thickness 2–50.8 mm, coils and sheets, NCM 7219 and 7220 headings) from China, India and Indonesia. Preliminary dumping margins are 50.1% (China), 25.3% (Indonesia) and 17.9% (India). Despite the affirmative finding, DECOM exercised discretion not to impose provisional anti-dumping duties at this stage, citing case complexity, the three-origin scope and the volume of submitted information; the final determination is scheduled for 25 November 2026.

The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced on April 28, 2026 that China will extend zero-tariff treatment (preferential tariff rate of 0%) to all 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations, effective May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2028. The measure adds 20 African non-LDC nations to the existing zero-tariff scheme already covering 33 African LDCs since December 2024, making China the first major economy to grant full-coverage zero-tariff access to all African diplomatic partners. Coverage extends to all tariff lines except out-of-quota products (where only in-quota rates move to zero); eSwatini is excluded as it maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan rather than the PRC.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) issued final findings dated 28 April 2026 in the anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of Low Ash Metallurgical Coke (ash content ≤ 18%, HS 27040010, 27040020, 27040030, 27040090) originating in or exported from Australia, China PR, Colombia, Indonesia, Japan and Russia, recommending a downward revision of the provisional anti-dumping duties previously imposed by Notification No. 41/2025-Customs (ADD) of 31 December 2025. The final findings are recommendatory; a definitive implementing customs notification from CBIC is expected before the provisional measures expire around June 2026. Significant reductions in duty rates are recommended for Indonesian and Japanese origin imports; the investigation covers six coke-exporting countries competing with domestic producers led by Tata Steel, JSW Steel, SAIL, Jindal Steel (JSPL) and AMNS India.

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.

ITAC's Amended Final Determination Report No. 772 found that fully automatic top-load washing machines (dry-linen capacity 10-17 kg, tariff subheading 8450.20.20) imported from China and Thailand were being dumped, causing material injury to the SACU industry on a complaint from Defy Appliances (Pty) Ltd. The Commission recommended, and SARS implemented via Government Notice 3907 of 2026, definitive anti-dumping duties ranging from 9.39% to 67.11% on the named origins, effective 23 April 2026, moving from a July 2025 provisional determination to a five-year definitive order.

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.

Egypt's Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade issued a ministerial decree on 31 March 2026 imposing definitive three-year safeguard duties on imports of flat-rolled steel products — covering hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC), hot-dip galvanized/galvannealed (HDG/GI), and pre-painted steel (PPGI) — effective 1 April 2026 and running through approximately 13 September 2028. The measure converts the 200-day provisional safeguard (Ministerial Decision No. 400/2025, effective 14 September 2025) into a definitive instrument and simultaneously extends coverage to CRC, HDG and PPGI products that had been subject to a separate parallel investigation launched September 2025; Egypt concurrently terminated the anti-dumping probe on CRC/HDG/PPGI from China and Turkey without imposing AD duties, making the safeguard the sole operative instrument. Duties are erga-omnes (all WTO Members, subject to Article 9.1 developing-country de minimis) and follow a three-tier declining-duty structure: CRC at 13.7%/min USD 83/t in Year 1, falling to 12.5%/min USD 76/t in Year 3; HDG at 14%/min USD 93/t declining to 13%; PPGI at 14.5% declining to 13.5%.

On 30 March 2026 Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) issued Notice 2026-68, imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on Thai-origin seamless copper tubes and pipes (outer diameter ≤66.68mm, wall thickness 0.20–2.50mm; HSK 7411.10.0000) for a four-month period from 30 March to 29 July 2026. The duty follows a 22 January 2026 preliminary affirmative determination by the Korea Trade Commission (KTC), which found dumping and threat of material injury to domestic producers. Rates are 3.64% for Hong Kong Hailiang Metal Trading Limited and affiliates, 8.41% for Fine Metal Technologies Public Company Limited (Thailand) and affiliates, and 3.64% for all other Thai suppliers. The investigation was initiated 12 September 2025 on a petition by domestic producers Neungwon Metal Industry and LS Metal.

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.

The Korea Trade Commission (KTC) at its 471st plenary session on 26 March 2026 adopted a final affirmative anti-dumping determination against imports of vertical articulated industrial robots (≥4 axes, 6–600 kg payload capacity) from Japan and China, recommending definitive five-year duties of 17.45–18.64% on Japanese-origin robots (Fanuc 17.45%, Yaskawa 18.64%) and 15.96–19.85% on Chinese-origin robots (KUKA Guangdong, ABB Shanghai, Kawasaki China-branch). Final duties are significantly lower than provisional duties of 21.17–43.6% imposed since November 2025 following an investigation initiated in March 2025 on petition by HD Hyundai Robotics. This is the first trade-remedy case on the register covering the industrial-automation / robotics sector.

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.

The UK's steel safeguard measure (25% out-of-quota duty) expired 30 June 2026 and was replaced from 1 July 2026 by a new tariff-rate-quota trade measure, announced by the Department for Business and Trade on 19 March 2026. The new measure cuts overall duty-free quota volumes by 51% versus the expired safeguard and raises the out-of-quota tariff to 50% by value, applied across 20 steel product categories. Ukraine-origin steel is exempt; two non-alloy wire commodity codes drop to 0% duty from 1 October 2026.

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).

Presidential Decreto 0264, signed on 16 March 2026 by President Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego with Minister of Commerce Diana Marcela Morales Rojas and Minister of Finance Germán Ávila Plazas, sets a 35% MFN import duty on 14 steel and metal-mechanical subpartidas (bars, profiles, tubes, wire products, barbed wire) covering HS chapters 72-73 imported from countries with which Colombia has no free-trade agreement — primarily China, Russia, Turkey, and India. The measure is valid for one year from its entry into force (15 days after Diario Oficial publication on 16 March 2026), after which the Comité de Asuntos Aduaneros, Arancelario y de Comercio Exterior must review its impact. It partially amends Decreto 1881 de 2021 and operationalises the Política Nacional de Reindustrialización (CONPES 4129), the Petro administration's flagship programme to reduce Colombia's hydrocarbon dependence by building new domestic manufacturing capacity.

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.

Australia's Anti-Dumping Commission issued Anti-Dumping Notice No. 2026/031 (Case 659) in March 2026, making a second Preliminary Affirmative Determination (PAD) on dumped imports of certain strata reinforcing steel bolts from China, amending the securities schedule under Customs Act 1901 s.42 and extending the determination to cover provisional countervailing duties for the first time. The goods — hollow flat-rolled steel bolts (44–48 mm OD, 2.2–2.5 m length) used in underground mining and tunnelling roof-and-rib support — are subject to revised interim security rates pending the Commissioner's final report to the Minister (due 16 April 2026). The applicant is DSI Underground Australia Pty Ltd; the Statement of Essential Facts (SEF 659) was released concurrently.

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).

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.

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.