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

NHAI's Project Implementation Unit at Lucknow (PIU-LKO) published a Request for Proposal (ref. NHAI/PIU-LKO/NH-27/Blackspot/2026) for the rectification of an accident blackspot on NH-27 in Uttar Pradesh, valued by Global Trade Alert at INR 107.87 crore. The tender embeds a domestic-supplier preference margin under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017, giving a bid-evaluation advantage to Class-I local suppliers across civil-engineering, general-construction, and engineering-services categories. GTA records the intervention as announced/implemented 9 January 2026.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) initiated anti-dumping and countervailing (subsidy) investigations on 9 January 2026 into forged or stamped steel grinding media ("balls," nominal diameter 25mm–160mm, HS 7326.11.00.00) originating in or exported from China, following a complaint from the domestic industry. On 25 May 2026, CBSA issued preliminary determinations of dumping and subsidizing, triggering provisional SIMA duties on subject goods released on or after that date. Five Chinese exporters — Feifan Metalwork, Changshu Longte Grinding Ball, Jiangyin Xingcheng Magotteaux Steel Balls, Oriental Casting And Forging, and Tangshan ZWell Equipment Manufacturing — provided substantially complete responses and received individual margins; other exporters face a residual rate. The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) is running a parallel injury inquiry, with a final injury decision due 22 September 2026.

North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO), a Government of India enterprise, published a public-procurement tender on 8 January 2026 for civil works (RCC abutments, wing walls and allied structures) on the 240 MW Heo Hydro Electric Project (West Siang / Shi Yomi district, Arunachal Pradesh) that embeds a domestic-supplier local-content requirement under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017. Global Trade Alert records the intervention as announced and implemented the same day. This is a separate procurement package (civil works) from the electro-mechanical-works tender for the same underlying project already on the register.

On 8 January 2026, NHAI published a Request for Proposal (tender ref. MPDIV-2101...) for a road-construction project in Madhya Pradesh state, valued by Global Trade Alert at INR 1,662.93 crore (~USD 190m). The tender embeds a domestic-supplier preference margin under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017, giving a bid-evaluation advantage to Class-I local suppliers across civil-engineering, general-construction, and supporting-services categories. GTA records the intervention as announced/implemented 8 January 2026.

On 6 January 2026 National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), an NHAI subsidiary, published a Request for Proposal (ref. NHLML/Ropeways/Kamakhya/2026/) for the development, operation, and maintenance of a ropeway connecting Kamakhya Railway Station to Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, Assam, valued at INR 201.52 crore (~USD 24 million), embedding a domestic-supplier preference margin under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017, across civil-engineering, general-construction, and engineering-services categories. Global Trade Alert records the intervention as announced/implemented 6 January 2026, in force, with no revocation date; full tender terms sit behind GTA's account-gated view.

Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) issued tender RVNL/KOL/EL/Metro/20 (announced and implemented 6 January 2026) for Design, Supply, Erection, Testing and Commissioning of Environmental Control Systems (ECS) and Tunnel Ventilation Systems (TVS) across four underground stations on the Kolkata Metro, with a disclosed contract value of INR 305.81 crore (~USD 36 million). The tender embeds a domestic- supplier local-content preference margin under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017, restricting bid-evaluation advantage toward Class-I local suppliers across the civil-engineering, general-construction, and engineering-services categories. Global Trade Alert records the intervention as announced and implemented on 6 January 2026.

Brazil's national development bank BNDES approved a BRL 500 million (~USD 92 million) credit limit for Toyota do Brasil Ltda. on 5 January 2026 to support acquisition of high-value-added Industry 4.0 machinery, equipment and technological services for new hybrid flex-fuel vehicle projects at its Sorocaba (SP) operations. The financing is drawn under the BNDES Mais Inovação programme, which conditions support on expanding the bank's registered supplier base for nationally-sourced ("conteúdo nacional") innovative equipment, and will also help fund the recovery of Toyota's Porto Feliz (SP) plant, which was damaged by severe storms in September 2025.

The US Department of Energy announced $2.7 billion in task-order funding over ten years to rebuild domestic uranium enrichment capacity: $900 million each to American Centrifuge Operating and General Matter to develop high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) enrichment capacity, $900 million to Orano Federal Services to expand low-enriched uranium (LEU) enrichment capacity, and $28 million to Global Laser Enrichment for next-generation enrichment technology. DOE frames the awards as reducing US reliance on foreign — chiefly Russian — enriched uranium supply and securing fuel for the country's 94 commercial reactors and future advanced-reactor deployment, with funds distributed under a milestone-based accountability framework.

NHAI's Jharkhand Division tendered a Performance-Based Maintenance Contract (PBMC) covering operation and maintenance of the 4-laned Kutchery Chowk (Ranchi)–Piska More–Bijupara section of NH-75 (km 3.560–55.000) and the Piska More–Palma section of NH-23 (km 3.600–26.000), a combined ~72.67 km, estimated cost ~INR 160.70 crore (NIT), with Global Trade Alert recording a related contract value of INR 197.36 crore. The tender embeds a domestic-supplier preference margin under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017, giving a bid-evaluation advantage to Class-I local suppliers in civil-engineering, general-construction, and engineering-services categories. GTA records the intervention as announced/implemented 2 January 2026, referencing tender ID E-249659; the underlying NIT was published 25 February 2025 with bid opening 23 May 2025 for a 1,825-day (~5-year) O&M term.

NHAI's Maharashtra & Goa Division issued a Request for Proposal (ref. MHDIV-24/14/2025-Maharashtra & Goa Division) for road-works maintenance in Maharashtra state, valued by Global Trade Alert at INR 94.57 crore. The tender embeds a domestic-supplier preference margin under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017, giving a bid-evaluation advantage to Class-I local suppliers across civil-engineering, general-construction, and engineering-services categories. GTA records the intervention as announced/implemented 2 January 2026.

France increased the budgeted fiscal cost of its standing reduced electricity-excise (accise sur l'électricité) scheme for data storage centres for calendar year 2026. The underlying mechanism, codified at Article L312-70 of the Code des impositions sur les biens et services (CIBS), applies a reduced excise tariff to the fraction of a qualifying data centre's annual electricity consumption exceeding 1 GWh, conditional on meeting eight cumulative infrastructure and energy-efficiency criteria (dedicated digital-data storage/processing/transport function, secured access, energy-management-system certification, waste-heat recovery or efficiency indicators, water-use limits, and a minimum electro-intensity threshold of 2.25%). The scheme is a long-running (since 2019) fiscal-support instrument for France's data-centre industrial base rather than a new measure; GTA logs the 2026 budget increase as a discrete state-aid intervention.

NHAI published a Request for Proposal for the rehabilitation and strengthening of a further section of NH-44 (Panipat–Khanna, Package 1), spanning Haryana and Punjab, valued by Global Trade Alert at INR 275.49 crore. As with the companion Package 2 and Package 3 tenders on the same corridor, the RFP embeds a domestic-supplier preference margin under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017, giving a bid-evaluation advantage to Class-I local suppliers across civil-engineering, general-construction, and engineering-services categories. GTA records the intervention as announced/implemented 1 January 2026.

NHAI published a Request for Proposal for the rehabilitation and strengthening of a further section of NH-44 (Panipat–Khanna, Package 2), spanning Haryana and Punjab, valued by Global Trade Alert at INR 278.04 crore. As with the companion Package 3 tender on the same corridor, the RFP embeds a domestic-supplier preference margin under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017, giving a bid-evaluation advantage to Class-I local suppliers across civil-engineering, general-construction, and engineering-services categories. GTA records the intervention as announced/implemented 1 January 2026.

NHAI published a Request for Proposal for the rehabilitation and strengthening of a section of NH-44 (Panipat–Khanna, Package 3) in Punjab, valued by Global Trade Alert at INR 284.48 crore. The tender embeds a domestic-supplier preference margin under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017, giving a bid-evaluation advantage to Class-I local suppliers across civil-engineering, general-construction, and engineering-services categories. GTA records the intervention as announced/implemented 1 January 2026.

NHAI published a Request for Proposal for the permanent rectification of blackspots and accident-prone locations on the Madurai–Kayathar section of NH-44 in Tamil Nadu, valued by Global Trade Alert at INR 255.94 crore. The tender embeds a domestic- supplier preference margin under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017, giving a bid-evaluation advantage to Class-I local suppliers across civil-engineering, general-construction, and engineering-services categories. GTA records the intervention as announced/implemented 1 January 2026.

UPMRC issued a Notice Inviting Tender (ref. UPMRC/LKCC(02)-02/Vol-1/NIT) on 1 January 2026 for the design and construction of the elevated viaduct and five elevated stations (Thakurganj, Balaganj, Sarfarajganj, Musabagh, Vasantkunj) on Lucknow Metro Line-2's East-West Corridor (Phase 1B), valued at approximately INR 492.22 crore. As with the parallel NHAI/NHIDCL road-tender filings on this register, the NIT embeds a domestic-supplier local-content requirement and purchase preference margin under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017, giving Class-I local suppliers a bid-evaluation advantage in the civil-engineering, general-construction, and site-preparation-services categories. Global Trade Alert logs this as two linked interventions (localisation and preference margin) under the same state act; both are consolidated into this single filing.

The Government of Maharashtra, Industries Department, notified the Maharashtra Industry, Investment, and Services Policy-2025 on 31 December 2025, valid for five years and superseding the prior Maharashtra Industrial Policy 2019. The umbrella state-level instrument supports Maharashtra's "trillion-dollar economy by 2030" and "Developed Maharashtra 2047" vision with targets of ₹70.5 lakh crore (~USD 850 bn) cumulative investment, 50 lakh (5 million) jobs across manufacturing and services, and expansion of industry's share of Gross State Value Added to 30%. It is Maharashtra's first-ever combined industry + services + investment-promotion framework (prior policies were industry-only), establishes the unified "Invest Maharashtra" platform and revamped MAITRI 2.0 portal (125+ services, AI investor support, blockchain document verification), and empowers a Cabinet Sub-Committee under the Chief Minister to sanction bespoke customised-package incentives for Mega and Ultra-Mega Projects above the ₹500 crore threshold.

On 31 December 2025, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) issued Decision No. 93483 raising the mandatory Saudization (localization) quota for engineering professions in the private and non-profit sectors from 25% to 30%, alongside a minimum-wage floor increase from SAR 7,000 to SAR 8,000 for qualifying Saudi hires. The decision covers 46 designated engineering professions (architect, power generation engineer, industrial engineer, electronics engineer, vehicle engineer, marine engineer, health engineer, and others) at establishments employing five or more workers in those roles, and requires professional accreditation from the Saudi Council of Engineers. Implementation began six months after issuance, on 30 June 2026, to give employers a compliance runway.

Decree 353/2025/NĐ-CP is the principal implementing instrument of Vietnam's Law on Digital Technology Industry (Law No. 71/2025/QH15), effective 1 January 2026 — the same date as the parent statute. The decree's five chapters and 36 articles operationalise three pillars: (i) a comprehensive State-support and preferential-incentive framework for products, services, and infrastructure across the semiconductor, AI, cloud, fintech, and e-commerce sectors; (ii) a high-quality-human-resources development framework covering training funds, scholarship schemes, and foreign-expert visa fast-tracks; and (iii) Vietnam's first statutory innovation sandbox, allowing organisations to deploy new digital products and business models under time- and scope-limited regulatory carve-outs where current law has not kept pace with practice.

FinCEN issued a final rule delaying by two years the effective date of the August 28, 2024 Investment Adviser AML Rule (89 FR 72156) — which would have required SEC-registered investment advisers (RIAs) and Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) to implement AML/CFT programs and file SARs under the Bank Secrecy Act. The compliance deadline moves from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2028. Treasury cited the need for additional time to review and re-tailor the rule to the diverse business models and risk profiles of the investment adviser sector, and to coordinate with related rulemakings. The final rule follows the September 22, 2025 NPRM and the August 5, 2025 exemptive relief order that had already paused enforcement.

On 29 December 2025, Brazil's national development bank BNDES approved R$1.13 billion (~USD 205 million) in financing for Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) to modernise three industrial plants at the Usina Presidente Vargas in Volta Redonda (RJ). R$625.8 million comes through the Finem credit line for sintering-plant emissions-control upgrades (new electrostatic precipitators and bag filters) that partly reimburse investments CSN made since 2023 to satisfy a Term of Adjustment of Conduct (TAC) with Rio de Janeiro's state environmental agency (INEA). A further R$500 million comes through the BNDES Mais Inovação programme for innovative machinery, IT equipment and IoT technology services. BNDES states the financing "fortalece a cadeia produtiva nacional de equipamentos" (strengthens the national equipment supply chain), giving the operation a domestic-content-preference dimension alongside its environmental/innovation financing purpose.

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

On 24 December 2025 China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) jointly issued Order No. 37, the Catalogue for Encouraging Foreign Investment in Industries (2025 Edition), effective 1 February 2026 and replacing the 2022 Edition (issued 26 October 2022). The revised catalogue expands to 1,679 total entries — a net increase of 205 and 303 modified relative to 2022 — split between a nationwide catalogue (619 entries, +100, 131 modified) and a regional catalogue for central/western China, the northeast, and Hainan (1,060 entries, +105, 172 modified). Foreign investors in listed sectors qualify for tariff and tax preferences on imported equipment and other incentives under China's foreign-investment regime. The revision prioritises advanced manufacturing and modern services and steers new entries toward inland and border provinces.

Presidential Decision No. 10767, published in the Official Gazette (Resmî Gazete, Issue No. 33118) on 25 December 2025, re-sets the Digital Services Tax (Dijital Hizmet Vergisi, DHV) rate under Article 5(3) of Law No. 7194. The rate, set at 7.5% since the tax's 2020 introduction, is reduced to 5% for revenue generated from 1 January 2026 and to 2.5% for revenue generated from 1 January 2027. The tax applies to gross Turkish-sourced revenue of digital-service providers (online advertising, content sales, social-media/intermediary platforms) exceeding statutory turnover thresholds, and falls predominantly on large non-resident platform operators (Google, Meta, Amazon and comparable multinationals).

Taiwan's Legislative Yuan passed the Artificial Intelligence Basic Act (人工智慧基本法) on third reading on 23 December 2025, and President Lai Ching-te promulgated the 20-article statute on 14 January 2026, bringing it into force immediately. The Act designates the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) as the central AI-policy competent authority and codifies seven governance principles — sustainability and well-being, human autonomy, privacy protection and data governance, cybersecurity and safety, transparency and explainability, fairness and non-discrimination, and accountability — that apply to all public-sector AI procurement and high-risk sectoral applications. The statute establishes a statutory foundation for the Taiwan AI Action Plan 2.0, mandates an Executive Yuan National AI Strategy Committee, and provides authority for sector-specific implementing regulations by FSC, NCC, MOHW, and MOTC across finance, telecoms, medical, and autonomous-vehicle AI within a two-year window. As the first national AI governance statute in the Greater China region and the third globally after the EU AI Act and South Korea's AI Basic Act, it frames regulatory expectations for the companies at the heart of the global AI hardware supply chain — TSMC, NVIDIA ODM partners, and advanced-packaging incumbents — that are headquartered or operate substantially in Taiwan.

Uruguay's Poder Ejecutivo promulgated Decreto Nº 329/025 on 23 December 2025, comprehensively overhauling the general investment-promotion framework established under Ley Nº 16.906 (1998) and replacing Decreto 268/020. Administered by COMAP under the Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas, the decree entered into force on 1 February 2026 with a coexistence transition period through 30 April 2026 and became the sole operative instrument from 1 May 2026. The decree extends project timelines, creates tiered investment categories (including a mega-investment tier providing up to 25-year IRAE exemptions), expands incentives for SMEs, and explicitly calibrates the scoring matrix toward decentralisation, innovation, export capacity, and strategic sectors including data-centers, green hydrogen, sustainable forestry-pulp, agtech, and global business services.

The European Investment Bank signed the first EUR 231 million tranche (EUR 16m + EUR 50m + EUR 165m) of a EUR 271 million green loan to Italy's Sunprime Holdings Srl on 22 December 2025, under the EIB-approved "Project Sophocles" solar-and-battery programme (project reference 20250247, approved 27 August 2025). The financing backs a EUR 487 million multi-year investment programme deploying roughly 280 MWp of small-scale solar PV across multiple Italian sites plus 80 MW and 270 MW of four-hour battery energy storage. A further EUR 40 million tranche signed in February 2026, and the programme was subsequently expanded to a EUR 507 million EIB/Natixis CIB co-financing package announced in March 2026. Global Trade Alert logs the December tranche as a "red" state-loan intervention on grounds that below-market EIB financing is a trade- and competition-distorting subsidy to a domestic renewable-energy developer.

On 22 December 2025 the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau released Public Notice DA-25-1086, adding to the Covered List (under section 1709 of the FY2025 NDAA) all unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and UAS critical components produced in a foreign country, plus communications and video-surveillance equipment/services produced by DJI Technologies and Autel Robotics (and their subsidiaries, affiliates, and licensing/JV partners). The designation is comprehensive by scope — every foreign-made drone from consumer quadcopters to large uncrewed systems, with no size/performance carve-out — and blocks the FCC from granting any new equipment authorization to covered UAS/components going forward. Previously authorized models already in the US market are not revoked. A follow-on Public Notice (DA-26-22, 7 January 2026) narrowed the scope with a temporary exemption (see amendments).

On 19 December 2025 the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government issued Notice 深府规〔2025〕10号, "Implementation Measures for Further Attracting and Utilizing Foreign Investment" (effective 1 January 2026 - 31 December 2028, superseding 深府规〔2024〕6号). The measures combine market-access steps (advanced-manufacturing FDI access, foreign biomedicine clinical trials, cross-border data-flow pilots) with tiered cash rewards for foreign direct investment: up to RMB 50 million/year (cumulative cap RMB 150 million) for large manufacturing FDI, RMB 5-8 million one-time awards for multinational regional/global headquarters, and up to RMB 6 million one-time awards for foreign-invested R&D centers. Global Trade Alert logged the same state act as two separate interventions split by sector tag.

On 19 December 2025 the Swiss Federal Assembly adopted in final vote the Federal Act on the Screening of Foreign Investments (Bundesgesetz über die Prüfung ausländischer Investitionen, Investitionsprüfgesetz / IPG; popularly the "Lex China", parliamentary business 22.035). The Act introduces Switzerland's first general ex-ante FDI-screening regime: acquisitions of control over Swiss companies active in security-critical sectors by foreign state-controlled investors require prior approval by SECO, with escalation to the Federal Council. The optional- referendum window runs until 17 April 2026; entry into force is not expected before 2027 once implementing ordinances are adopted. Critical sectors named in the Act include military and dual-use goods, electricity grids and generation, water supply, pharma and health, telecommunications, transport infrastructure and financial-market infrastructure.

The Council of the European Union adopted Regulation (EU) 2025/2618 on 18 December 2025, amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014, to add 41 vessels to Annex XLII of the Russia sanctions regime. Of these, 36 vessels are designated for transporting Russian crude oil and petroleum products while engaging in irregular and high-risk shipping practices characteristic of the "shadow fleet," 5 vessels are designated for transporting stolen Ukrainian grain and cultural property, and 1 vessel (GT HONOR) is designated for facilitating violation or circumvention of EU sanctions. Listed vessels are banned from access to EU member-state ports and locks and from a broad range of maritime-transport-related services, effective 19 December 2025. The measure is an incremental listing update between the 19th (Regulation 2025/2033, October 2025) and 20th (Regulation 2026/506, April 2026) numbered sanctions packages, rather than a new package itself.

HM Treasury's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) published a Russia-regime notice on 18 December 2025 designating five individuals and 19 entities under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Of the 19 entities, six are based in Russia, eight in the United Arab Emirates, four in Uzbekistan and one in Kyrgyzstan — reflecting OFSI's continued focus on third-country intermediaries used to route sanctioned Russian trade and finance. Designated persons are subject to a full asset freeze and are barred from commercial transactions and investment instruments with UK persons.

Section 851 of the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 119-60), signed December 18, 2025, prohibits US federal agencies from procuring biotechnology equipment or services from designated "biotechnology companies of concern" (BCCs), and bars federal contractors from using such equipment/services in work performed under federal contracts, grants, or loans. The final enacted text ties initial BCC designations to DoD's existing §1260H Chinese-military-company list (which currently includes BGI and MGI, but not WuXi AppTec or WuXi Biologics) and directs OMB to designate additional BCCs within one year of enactment; operational prohibitions activate 60-90 days after FAR revision, with a five-year grandfather period for pre-existing contracts — enforcement is expected to begin in 2027-28. The legislation is the successor to H.R.8333 (118th Congress, House-passed September 2024 but stalled in the Senate before adjournment) and represents the first enacted US federal-procurement biotech-supply-chain-resilience statute.

On 17 December 2025, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), a federal Crown corporation, introduced a Defence Platform to deploy up to CAD 4 billion in financing, advisory services and investment solutions for Canadian companies in the defence and national-security sector. Of this, CAD 3.5 billion is financing and advisory support to help firms scale, diversify and enter defence supply chains, and CAD 500 million is investment capital deployed via the StrongNorth Fund, the Catalyst Innovation Fund, and targeted indirect investments in private funds aligned with Canada's defence and sovereignty priorities. The platform is anchored on a new CAD 1 billion capital injection into BDC announced in the 4 November 2025 federal budget.

KfW IPEX-Bank, the project- and export-finance arm of Germany's state-owned development bank KfW, announced on 17 December 2025 that it co-arranged a EUR 1.6 billion (approx. USD 1.88 billion) financing package for CEE RF9, a repowering fund managed by CEE Group (a Brookfield Asset Management-backed renewables asset manager), alongside UniCredit, CIBC, ING, SMBC and SEB. The financing funds equipment upgrades (more powerful turbines and PV modules) across at least 29 of CEE Group's 45 existing wind and solar plants in Germany, with individual plants also located in France, targeting a capacity increase from 457 MW to approximately 1.1 GW (a 140%+ increase) by 2030. Global Trade Alert separately logs the transaction as a "red"-flagged state-linked lending-support intervention (state act 95847 / intervention 151684).

On 16 December 2025, Public Services and Procurement Canada implemented the Buy Canadian Procurement Policy Framework, bringing into force (a) the Policy on Prioritizing Canadian Materials in Federal Procurement, which mandates use of Canadian steel, wood products and aluminum in federal defence and construction contracts valued at CAD 25 million or more that contain at least CAD 250,000 of those materials where Canadian supply exists, and (b) the Policy on Prioritizing Canadian Suppliers and Canadian Content in Strategic Federal Procurements, which applies a bid-price discount margin favouring Canadian suppliers in procurements tied to Canada's economic, industrial and innovation priorities. Complementary amendments to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations, effective 15 December 2025, remove CITT jurisdiction to review procurement measures that restrict participation to, or favour, Canadian suppliers, goods, services, materials or subcontractors. The framework applies immediately to procurements of CAD 25 million and above and is scheduled to expand to contracts of CAD 5 million and above by spring 2026. Budget 2025 allocates roughly CAD 186 million over five years to implement the framework, including CAD 79.9 million for a new Small and Medium Business Procurement Program.

KfW IPEX-Bank, the project- and export-finance arm of Germany's state-owned development bank KfW, announced on 16 December 2025 a EUR 150 million loan to Nowega GmbH, a Münster-based transmission system operator, to convert and expand its hydrogen infrastructure and develop biogas infrastructure. DekaBank co-financed a further EUR 30 million, bringing the total package to EUR 180 million. The financing supports converting existing high-pressure gas pipelines (part of Nowega's 1,500 km network) for hydrogen transport as part of Germany's national hydrogen core network (Wasserstoffkernnetz) build-out; KfW IPEX-Bank previously provided Nowega EUR 40 million for the same purpose in 2020. Global Trade Alert separately logs the transaction as a "red"-flagged state-linked lending-support intervention (state act 95711 / intervention 151431).

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) entered into a $3,103,360 settlement with Exodus Movement, Inc., a U.S.-incorporated non-custodial / self-custody crypto wallet software company, to resolve 254 apparent violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR, 31 C.F.R. Part 560) committed between October 17, 2017 and January 4, 2019. Exodus customer-support staff provided technical and account-related support — and in 12 of the 254 instances recommended the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) to circumvent partner-exchange geoblocking controls — to users who self-identified as located in Iran, in violation of the ITSR's prohibition on the export of services to Iran (§ 560.204) and, for the 12 egregious cases, the facilitation prohibition (§ 560.203). OFAC deemed the 12 VPN-coaching cases "egregious" because Exodus personnel were generally aware of U.S. sanctions and the company's own terms of use prohibited Iran usage, yet support staff actively helped Iranian users evade controls. Exodus separately committed to invest $630,000 in additional sanctions compliance controls. The settlement is structurally novel as the first OFAC enforcement action against a Web3-infrastructure / non-custodial wallet-software vendor and establishes that OFAC will assert jurisdiction over self-custody software providers based on customer-support facilitation conduct, not just custodial flow control.

On 12 December 2025 the Swiss Federal Council adopted the first tranche of listings aligning with the EU's 19th Russia sanctions package (Council Regulation (EU) 2025/2033, 23 October 2025), amending the Ordinance on Measures in Connection with the Situation in Ukraine and the Belarus Ordinance with effect from 13 December 2025. The decision adds asset freezes and entry/transit bans for 22 natural persons and 42 entities tied to Russia's military-industrial complex, energy sector and shadow-fleet vessel management; extends purchase/sale/insurance bans to over 100 additional tankers; imposes transaction restrictions on 5 Russian banks and 4 Russian-bank branches in Belarus and Kazakhstan for use of specialised financial-messaging services; sanctions Chinese and Hong Kong trading companies and refineries implicated in circumventing the G7 oil price cap; and designates 5 Belarusian persons linked to military-industrial activities. Divestment-exemption deadlines for Swiss persons winding down Russian holdings are extended to end-2026. This is a partial, listings-only tranche — the more substantive measures of the EU's 19th package (Russian LNG import ban, crypto-services prohibition, AI/HPC service bans) were not adopted until the Federal Council's follow-on decision of 25 February 2026.

On 11 December 2025 the Council of the EU presidency, the European Parliament, and the European Commission reached provisional political (trilogue) agreement on the revision of Regulation (EU) 2019/452 establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments into the Union, concluding interinstitutional negotiations on the Commission's proposal of 24 January 2024. The revised regime upgrades the 2019 cooperation-mechanism-only framework into a hybrid harmonised/mandatory regime: all 27 Member States must establish FDI screening mechanisms (replacing the current patchwork in which some Member States have no mechanism at all); mandatory minimum sectoral scope is set EU-wide and covers dual-use items, military equipment, hyper-critical technologies (general-purpose AI with space/defence relevance, quantum technologies, semiconductors), critical raw materials, critical entities in energy/transport/digital infrastructure, electoral infrastructure, and certain financial-system entities; foreign investments routed through EU subsidiaries fall within the perimeter; a shared database prevents Member-State arbitrage; and an optional single electronic-filing portal becomes available if requested by at least nine Member States. Screening decisions remain the exclusive responsibility of the Member State in which the investment is made. Once the Regulation enters into force (after Council and Parliament formal adoption and OJ publication, both pending as of the political-agreement date), the new rules will apply after an 18-month transition period — implementation expected toward the end of 2027.

Morocco's Loi de Finances n° 50-25 for fiscal year 2026, promulgated by Dahir n° 1-25-67 of 10 December 2025 and published in Bulletin Officiel n° 7465 bis of 16 December 2025, sets the FY2026 customs-tariff schedule (continuing the EU Common External Tariff alignment process at 2.5%/17.5%/40% tiers with sector-specific input reductions), amends the fiscal regimes for Zones d'Accélération Industrielle and Casablanca Finance City, and delivers the 2026 tranche of the multi-year IS (corporate-tax) rate-convergence schedule under Framework Law n° 69-19. The law also extends green-investment fiscal accelerators aligned with the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and the EU-Morocco Strategic Partnership on Sustainable Raw Materials Value Chains, and contains phosphate-sector fiscal provisions affecting OCP Group's DAP/MAP/TSP export treatment. Entry into force: 1 January 2026.

On 10 December 2025 the National Assembly of Vietnam adopted Law No. 134/2025/QH15 on Artificial Intelligence (8 chapters, 35 articles), Vietnam's first dedicated AI statutory framework and one of the first comprehensive horizontal AI laws in Southeast Asia. The law establishes a three-tier risk-based regulatory architecture (high / medium / low) for the research, development, provision, deployment, and use of AI systems; defines the rights and obligations of providers, deployers, importers, distributors, and users; and mandates state oversight via the Ministry of Information & Communications and Ministry of Science & Technology. Prohibited acts include systematic deception, manipulation of human perception, generation of fake content endangering national security, exploitation of vulnerable populations, and obstruction of human-supervision mechanisms. The law applies to Vietnamese agencies, organizations, and individuals as well as foreign organizations and individuals involved in AI-related activities in Vietnam, taking effect 1 March 2026 with 12-18 month transition windows for existing systems depending on sector.

Vietnam's National Assembly passed Law on Cybersecurity No. 116/2025/QH15 on 10 December 2025 (434 of 443 deputies in favour), effective 1 July 2026. The law supersedes both the 2018 Cybersecurity Law (Law 24/2018/QH14) and the 2015 Law on Cyber Information Security, consolidating cybersecurity, cyber-information-security, and network-information-security into a unified Ministry of Public Security-led framework. It retains data-localization obligations for foreign digital-service providers handling personal data, user-generated content, and relationship graphs of Vietnamese users (minimum 24-month retention), introduces 6-hour urgent / 24-hour standard content take-down windows on MPS request, expressly prohibits AI/deepfake forgery of images, voices, and videos for illegal purposes, and mandates child-safety platform measures.

Australia's government-owned Clean Energy Finance Corporation announced on 9 December 2025 an AUD 70 million (approx. USD 46 million) financing package with Volvo Financial Services and Volvo Group Australia to accelerate electrification of Australia's trucking fleet. The package funds an interest-rate discount of up to 0.5 percentage points for eligible customers leasing medium- and heavy-duty battery-electric trucks (HD BEVs) and installing EV charging infrastructure, plus a residual-value support mechanism to reduce operating-lease costs and protect future HD BEV resale values. Volvo Group Australia has committed to manufacture electric trucks at its Wacol, Queensland facility (in production since 1972, 80,000+ trucks built) from 2026. Global Trade Alert separately logs the transaction as a "red"-flagged local-value-added and lending-support intervention (state act 95651).

On 9 December 2025, the Qatar Investment Authority's newly formed AI subsidiary Qai and Brookfield Asset Management announced a USD 20 billion strategic investment partnership to develop AI infrastructure, including fully integrated compute facilities, in Qatar and select international markets. The venture is a cornerstone of Brookfield's global AI infrastructure program (via the Brookfield Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Fund, BAIIF), which targets mobilising up to USD 100 billion globally, and is positioned as advancing Qatar National Vision 2030's push to become a Middle East AI-services hub. It is state-backed capital deployment (sovereign wealth fund subsidiary) rather than a regulatory or trade-control measure, and Global Trade Alert classifies it as an unspecified state-aid intervention.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office designated two China-based commercial cyber companies — Sichuan Anxun Information Technology Co Ltd (known as i-Soon) and Integrity Technology Group Incorporated — under the UK's Cyber sanctions regime, freezing their UK assets and imposing controls on commercial transactions and investment instruments involving them. i-Soon was designated for targeting over 80 government and private-sector IT systems worldwide, including UK public-sector and private-industry networks. Integrity Tech was designated for operating a covert botnet of more than 260,000 compromised devices globally and supplying access to it to enable unauthorised intrusion into UK public-sector systems.

OFAC settled civil liability of USD 1,092,000 with an unnamed individual (a former US government official and attorney) for 122 apparent violations of Russia-related sanctions programs spanning April 2018 to June 2022. The individual served as fiduciary and trustee of a US-based family trust established for the benefit of a sanctioned Russian oligarch (SDN-listed under EO 13662 and EO 14024) and in that capacity dealt in the blocked property of — and provided prohibited trust-administration services to — the oligarch without OFAC authorisation. OFAC assessed the conduct as non-egregious and not voluntarily self-disclosed, but credited substantial cooperation in fixing the penalty below the base amount.

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated four individuals and four entities under Executive Order 14098 ("Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons Destabilizing Sudan and Undermining the Goal of a Democratic Transition") for operating a transnational network that recruits former Colombian military personnel to fight for Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary. Designated persons include retired Colombian officer Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra, his wife Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, the Colombia-based recruitment agency International Services Agency (A4SI), and Panama-based intermediary Talent Bridge, S.A. (formerly Global Staffing S.A.). All property and interests in property of the designated persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from transacting with them.

On December 9, 2025, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) made final determinations of dumping (margin of 282.1% of export price) and subsidizing (77.0% of export price, or CNY 10,134.87 per metric tonne) with respect to thermal paper rolls originating in or exported from China, classified primarily under HS 4811.90.00.90. On January 8, 2026, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) found that the dumped and subsidized imports caused injury to the domestic industry, making the antidumping and countervailing duties definitive. The CBSA received insufficient cooperation from the Chinese government and exporters/producers, so all Chinese exporters are subject to the combined "all others" rate.

The Chongqing Municipal Government General Office issued Notice 渝府办发〔2025〕59号 on 2025-12-06, promulgating an "Implementation Plan for Strengthening Fiscal-Financial Linkage to Support High-Quality Economic Development." The plan builds a three-tier (municipal-district-enterprise) government financing-guarantee system, capping average guarantee fees below 1% and prioritising small/micro enterprises and "three-rural" (agriculture, rural areas, farmers) borrowers. It layers in specialised guarantee products across five priority financial verticals: science and technology innovation (innovation-point loans, flow loans, linked loans), green finance (carbon-reduction and transition loans), inclusive finance (emergency bridge loans, government-procurement financing), elder-care services, and manufacturing (technology- renovation guarantees, supply-chain finance products).