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

Three-year export-promotion policy issued by the Bangladesh Ministry of Commerce on 25 February 2024 covering FY2024-25 through FY2026-27. Sets a $110bn merchandise+services export target by FY2026-27 (vs. ~$56bn FY2023-24 base), restructures the cash-incentive regime, and designates "highest priority" and "special development" sectors including ready-made garments, leather, jute, ICT, pharmaceuticals, agro-processing, light engineering, and plastics. Explicitly designed as the transition framework for navigating Bangladesh's LDC graduation (effective 24 November 2026), at which point the country will lose EU Everything-But-Arms duty-free access and face an estimated 10% average MFN tariff on EU exports.

METI committed up to 732 billion yen (~US$4.86 billion) in direct subsidies for Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing K.K. (JASM) to build a second wafer fab adjacent to the first JASM facility in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture. Confirmed by METI Minister Ken Saito at the Fab 1 opening ceremony on 24 February 2024, two weeks after TSMC, Sony Semiconductor Solutions, Denso, and Toyota jointly announced the Fab 2 expansion (6 February 2024). Fab 2 will produce 6/7nm and 40nm logic for automotive, industrial, consumer, and HPC end-markets, with combined Fab 1 + Fab 2 capacity exceeding 100,000 12-inch wafers per month. Construction targets year-end 2024; operations target year-end 2027. Combined with the 476 billion yen Fab 1 grant, total JASM subsidies reach ~1.208 trillion yen, the largest single direct manufacturing subsidy in Japanese history. METI conditions require >=10 years of post-startup production and >=50% Japanese-domestic procurement of silicon wafers, materials, and components.

On 23 February 2024 Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced at a press conference in the New Administrative Capital that Egypt and an ADQ-led consortium (Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company PJSC, with Modon Properties and Talaat Moustafa Group as development partners) had signed a framework agreement granting ADQ the development rights to Ras El-Hekma — a 170.8 million square-metre Mediterranean coastal site approximately 350 km northwest of Cairo. The USD 35bn package comprises USD 24bn in fresh foreign-currency cash for the development rights (paid in two tranches: USD 15bn within one week, USD 20bn within two months) plus USD 11bn converted from existing UAE deposits at the Central Bank of Egypt into prime-project equity stakes across Egypt. Egypt retains a 35% sovereign stake in the master-developer ("Ras Al Hekma Company"). The deal is the largest single foreign direct investment in Egypt's history; it materially eased Egypt's worst FX crisis in decades and underpinned the IMF's March 2024 USD 8bn Extended Fund Facility top-up and the EUR 7.4bn EU funding package.

On 23 February 2024, two years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Council of the European Union adopted Council Regulation (EU) 2024/745, amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 and comprising the EU's 13th Russia sanctions package. It adds new CN codes to the export-ban annexes (dual-use and advanced-technology goods) and adds 27 entities — including firms based in China, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Turkiye — to the list of parties barred from any exemption from the export ban, on the basis they are assessed to be supporting Russia's military-industrial complex via circumvention routes. Asset-freeze listings (106 individuals, 88 entities) under the parallel Council Decision took effect 23 February 2024; the sectoral trade measures took effect 24 February 2024.

BIS published a two-part final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) for cameras, systems, and related components, effective March 8, 2024. Part one creates new ECCN 6A293 controlling ultra-high-speed cameras (minimum exposure time ≤1 microsecond AND throughput ≥13.43 Giga-pixels per second at 205,000 fps) for nuclear nonproliferation (NP) reasons with no License Exception STA eligibility, capturing instruments used in weapons-test diagnostics not previously covered by 6A003 or 6A203. Part two lifts military-end-user (MEU) restrictions on ECCNs 0A504, 6A002, 6A003, 6A993.a, and 8A002.d for Country Group A:1 destinations (32 closest US allies including EU member states, Canada, Japan, Australia, UK, and South Korea), aligning controls with commercial availability and established allied strategic relationships.

Bulgaria's National Assembly adopted on 22 February 2024 amendments to the Investment Promotion Act establishing the country's first horizontal foreign direct investment screening mechanism, published in State Gazette No. 20 on 8 March 2024 and entering into force on 12 March 2024. The regime implements EU Regulation 2019/452 by creating an Interdepartmental Screening Council with a 45-day decision window over non-EU investments meeting a 10 % equity stake or €2 million threshold in critical-infrastructure, dual-use, advanced-technology, media, and financial-infrastructure sectors, with no threshold for investments by Russian or Belarusian persons or in oil and petroleum activities. Non-compliance and false declarations carry fines of 5 % of investment value, with a minimum BGN 50,000.

Canada made SOR/2024-32, Regulations Amending the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations, registered and effective 2024-02-21 on the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The regulations add 163 persons to Schedule 1 — 10 individuals and 153 entities, predominantly Russian organizations tied to military-industrial production, logistics, insurance and oil-sector support — triggering Canadian dealing/asset bans. A parallel amendment to Schedule 7 adds five new goods categories under the Harmonized System (explosives and pyrotechnics; data-processing units and components; ball and roller bearings; semiconductor manufacturing equipment; optical and navigational instruments), banning their export to Russia or Russian persons.

On 21 February 2024, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed Presidential Decree DP-37 approving the 2024 State Program for the Implementation of the "Uzbekistan-2030" Strategy under the slogan "Year of Support for Youth and Business". The decree converts the parent Uzbekistan-2030 doctrine (DP-158 of 11 September 2023) into binding annual execution targets covering SOE privatisation and IPO programmes (Navoi MMC, Almalyk MMC, Uzbekistan National Investment Fund), industrial localisation, sectoral investment lines, "green economy" and water-management benchmarks, and youth-business support measures. DP-37 functions as the master annual operationalisation instrument for Uzbekistan's 2024 industrial and investment policy stack, anchoring the downstream subsoil recodification (LRU-987, Oct 2024) and critical-minerals national programme (March 2025).

MOTIE brought the 33rd amendment of the Public Notice on Trade of Strategic Items into force on 24 February 2024 (announced 20 February 2024), adding 682 items to the Russia/Belarus situational-licence (상황허가) list, taking that list to 1,159 items. The added items span construction machinery, secondary batteries, machine tools and aircraft components judged to have high military-diversion potential. Situational- licence items are prohibited from export in principle from the effective date, with narrow exceptions such as pre-existing contracts and case-by- case review categories.

On 16 February 2024 the European Commission opened case FSP.100147, the first-ever in-depth Phase II investigation under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR, Regulation 2022/2560), to examine whether Chinese state-owned CRRC Qingdao Sifang Locomotive Co. Ltd. received foreign subsidies enabling it to submit an unduly advantageous tender for a EUR 614 million Bulgarian Ministry of Transport contract covering 20 zero-emission electric push-pull trains and 15 years of maintenance. The Commission identified approximately EUR 1.745 billion in total foreign financial contributions to CRRC — roughly five times the bid value. CRRC withdrew its tender on 26 March 2024 before the Commission could issue a final decision; the Commission closed the investigation following the withdrawal.

OFAC amended § 510.512 of the North Korea Sanctions Regulations (31 CFR Part 510) to broaden the scope of authorized humanitarian activities for NGOs operating in North Korea, including permitting transactions with certain Government of North Korea entities where necessary to deliver authorized services. Three new general licenses were added: one for exports and re-exports of items licensed by the Commerce Department; one for agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices; and one for journalistic activities in North Korea. NGOs relying on the authorization must notify the State Department at least 30 days before commencing activity.

Slovakia's Národná rada adopted Act No. 31/2024 Z.z. on 13 February 2024, amending Act No. 57/2018 Z.z. on Regional Investment Aid by inserting two new sections — §28a (Mimoriadna investičná pomoc / Exceptional Investment Aid) and §28b (Exceptional Investment Aid in sectors strategic for the transition to a climate-neutral economy) — creating the national legal base for disbursing the EC-approved €1 billion Slovak TCTF net-zero state-aid envelope (EC decision 15 December 2023, SA case approved under the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework). The scheme supports manufacturers of batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, heat pumps, electrolysers, CCUS equipment, key components thereof, and related critical raw materials, with aid ceilings of €350 million per project in general districts and €150 million in Bratislava region, at aid intensities of 15–60% depending on company size and geography. Act 31/2024 is the horizontal enabling statute underpinning all large-scale Slovak net-zero state-aid awards flowing from the TCTF/NZIA envelopes — including future battery gigafactory, electrolyser, and clean-tech plant grants in the 2024–2025 window.

South Korea's National Assembly enacted the Special Act on National Resource Security (국가자원안보 특별법, Act No. 20114) on 6 February 2024, with the law taking effect on 7 February 2025 alongside its Enforcement Decree (adopted 14 January 2025). The statute is the first horizontal Korean resource-security framework, covering oil, natural gas, coal, hydrogen and government-designated critical minerals. It establishes a four-tier crisis-alert system (관심·주의·경계·심각 / Attention · Caution · Alert · Serious) under a MOTIE-led inter-ministerial committee, authorises emergency-import measures, mandatory stockpile build/release orders, supply-chain disclosure obligations and price-control powers during designated crises, and requires a five-year basic resource-security plan. The Act operationalises through Korea National Oil Corp., Korea Gas Corp. and the post-2024 KORES successor agency (KOMIR), and creates a statutory designation framework for "selected critical materials" (선도사업자) and "core resource-security companies" eligible for fiscal and financial support.

On 3 February 2024 Guinea's National Transition Council (CNT) ratified three inter-linked conventions structuring the Simandou integrated iron-ore mega-project: (i) the co-development agreement for the 670km Trans-Guinéen rail and Morebaya/Forécariah port, executed via the Compagnie du TransGuinéen (CTG) JV between the Republic of Guinea, Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS) and Rio Tinto Simfer; (ii) the WCS operating framework for blocks 1–2; and (iii) the bilateral adjustments to Simfer's amended-and-consolidated base convention covering blocks 3–4 with Rio Tinto and Chinalco/Baowu participation. Estimated integrated capex USD 15–20bn; first commercial shipment from Forécariah occurred in November 2025 with President Mamadi Doumbouya attending. At full ramp Simandou is designed for ~120 Mt/yr of high-grade (~65% Fe) ore — the largest single addition to seaborne iron-ore supply since Vale's S11D (2016).

Guyana's National Assembly passed the Fiscal Enactments (Amendment) Act 2024, which received presidential assent and was published in the Official Gazette on 6 February 2024. The Act amends Section 19 and the First Schedule of the Natural Resource Fund Act 2021, revising the formula governing the annual withdrawal ceiling from the NRF — replacing the prior fixed-tier schedule with a revised sliding scale applicable to the first US$5 billion of deposits paid into the Fund in the immediately preceding fiscal year. The revised withdrawal rules authorised US$1.586 billion in NRF withdrawals for fiscal year 2024, with a subsequent notification published in the Official Gazette on 4 April 2025 authorising US$2.464 billion for fiscal year 2025, reflecting the accelerating Stabroek Block production ramp-up under the ExxonMobil/Hess/CNOOC consortium.

Ministerial order signed by the French Minister of Economy on 2 February 2024 and published in JORF n°0034 of 10 February 2024 establishing France's first national export-control list under Article 9 of EU Regulation 2021/821 on dual-use goods. The arrêté requires prior authorisation for exports to non-EU third countries of (i) quantum computers and their enabling technologies (qubit devices, control systems, measurement equipment) and (ii) equipment for the design, development, production, test and inspection of advanced electronic components, plus associated software and technology. The annex was substantively replaced by the Arrêté du 27 mars 2025 (explicit technical thresholds including ≥34-qubit systems with C-NOT error ≤10⁻⁴, HBM 6000+ processing performance, cryogenic cooling, dry-etch and EUV-mask tooling, and Si-28/Si-30/Ge isotopically-controlled materials) and is repealed by the Arrêté du 10 mars 2026 with entry into force 11 May 2026.

On 31 January 2024 Switzerland's Federal Council decided to align with the EU's 12th sanctions package (adopted 18 December 2023) by amending the Ordinance on Measures Relating to the Situation in Ukraine (SR 946.231.176.72), entering into force the same day at 18:00. The update extends Switzerland's Russia-sanctions perimeter to match the EU's additions — including the Russian diamond, steel and other import-revenue restrictions — and adds a new financial-sector prohibition barring Russian nationals and Russia-resident individuals from controlling Swiss crypto-asset service providers, aimed at closing sanctions-circumvention and enforcement gaps.

Uttar Pradesh notified its first dedicated state-level Semiconductor Policy on 12 February 2024 (cabinet-cleared 30 January 2024), making it the fourth Indian state with a sectoral semiconductor incentive regime after Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat. The policy stacks a 50% additional state capital subsidy on top of the central India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 50% subsidy — yielding an effective ~75% capex coverage for qualifying fab, display-fab, compound-semiconductor, ATMP/OSAT, and sensor units approved by ISM. It adds a 75% land rebate on the first 200 acres for ATMP/OSAT (30% on additional land), a 5% interest subsidy (capped at ₹1 cr/year for 7 years) on investments up to ₹200 cr, 100% stamp-duty and registration-fee exemption, and a 10-year electricity-duty exemption. Within months of notification the state attracted ₹40,038 cr in investment proposals (Tarq Semiconductor, Kaynes Semicon, Aditech, Vamasundari) with ~32,000 projected jobs, prompting the cabinet to later approve mega-project incentives for investments ≥ ₹3,000 cr.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed Decree No. 31/2024 on 26 January 2024, establishing the All-Ukrainian Economic Platform "Made in Ukraine" (Зроблено в Україні) as the foundational legal architecture for Ukraine's wartime domestic-industrial-development programme. The decree creates a coordinating body under the President — an advisory council convening the Cabinet of Ministers, Ministry of Economy, Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and State Property Fund — mandated to implement public-procurement preferential margins for Ukrainian-origin goods, administer the eRobota state-grants programme (~UAH 35 bn/year), and establish the National Cashback programme rewarding consumers for purchasing domestic goods via the Diia state-digital platform. The instrument is the statutory parent for the cluster of wartime localisation and industrial-preference measures operationalised through subsequent Cabinet Resolutions and Verkhovna Rada legislation.

A joint advisory issued January 26, 2024 by six US agencies (USTR, State, Treasury, Commerce, DHS, and Labor) updating businesses on supply-chain risks associated with Burma's post-coup military regime (SAC). The advisory warns of reputational, economic, and legal exposure for entities operating in or sourcing from Burma and specifically flags heightened due-diligence requirements for metal importers, the SAC's opaque network of corporate affiliates in Thailand, Singapore, India, and the UAE that complicate traceability, and cross-border reporting gaps for goods and funds transfers. Targeted sectors include rare earths (dysprosium, terbium), base metals and gold mining, timber, aviation services and jet fuel, computer chips and ICT equipment, and small arms components.

FinCEN published a final rule on January 25, 2024 adjusting the maximum civil monetary penalties (CMPs) for Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) violations as mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the 2015 Improvements Act. Adjustments are calculated using the CPI-U percent change between October 2022 and October 2023 and are codified in 31 CFR § 1010.821. The update covers 12 BSA statutory penalty provisions, ranging from per-day recordkeeping violations to wilful correspondent-account and special-measures infractions, with the largest single-penalty ceiling rising to $1,731,383.

BIS final rule (FR Doc 2024-01408, 89 FR 4804, effective 23 January 2024) strengthens the EAR sanctions architecture against Russia and Belarus by adding 94 HTS-6 entries to the Russian and Belarusian Industry Sector Sanctions (§746.5/§746.8) — covering hand tools, parachutes, aircraft training simulators, and airplane/helicopter components — and expands the de minimis threshold for foreign-made goods incorporating US-origin 600-series and 9×515 items destined for Russia or Belarus. A parallel provision targets Iran's supply of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia by adding HTS code 852910 (antennas and antenna reflectors) to the §746.7 Iran export-control list. The rule also refines Crimea licensing to permit exports supporting Ukrainian Armed Forces deployments in occupied territories.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) removed three persons from the Unverified List (UVL) effective January 19, 2024 because BIS was able to verify their bona fides pursuant to § 744.15(c)(2) of the EAR. The three removed parties are Skymount Drones (Canada), Plexus (Xiamen) Co., Ltd. (China), and Delma Industrial Supply & Marine Services (UAE). Removal restores eligibility for EAR license exceptions and removes the requirement for a signed UVL Statement before US exporters ship items subject to the EAR to these parties.

On 22 January 2024, Brazil's National Council for Industrial Development (CNDI), reactivated by President Lula in 2023, launched Nova Indústria Brasil (NIB) — Brazil's first comprehensive national industrial policy since the 2011-2014 Plano Brasil Maior. The framework commits roughly R$300 billion (~USD 60 billion) in financing through 2026, distributed across loans, non-refundable grants and equity participations administered by BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank), Finep (Research and Projects Financing Company) and Embrapii (Brazilian Industrial Research and Innovation Company), with quantitative targets running to 2033. The R$300bn envelope combines R$106bn announced at the first CNDI meeting in July 2023 with R$194bn redirected from existing budget lines. NIB is structured around six "missions": (1) sustainable and digital agro-industrial chains, (2) health-industrial complex resilience (medicines, vaccines, devices), (3) urban infrastructure and green mobility, (4) digital transformation and Industry 4.0 including semiconductors, (5) bioeconomy and energy transition, and (6) defence, sovereignty and national-security technologies. Two presidential decrees signed the same day establish local-content preferences for New PAC public-procurement bids and create an Interministerial Public Procurement Commission. As of February 2025, BNDES had approved R$220bn in NIB-aligned operations, and the plan has anchored downstream sectoral programmes including Brasil Semicon, the Mover automotive programme and Mais Inovação.

On 22 January 2024 President Sadyr Japarov signed Presidential Decree No. 5 approving the National Project for the Extraction of Polymetals and Rare-Earth Elements for the Dynamic Development of the Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic. The decree designates 22 critical minerals (antimony, rare-earth elements, tungsten, copper, beryllium and other transition-relevant metals) and mandates the development of a comprehensive national Strategy on Critical Minerals supported by regulatory reform and digitisation of state geological data. Operational targets include $1bn in annual critical-minerals exports by 2030, $700m in foreign direct investment inflows to the sector, and the launch of at least five new investment projects. Following the decree, the Cabinet of Ministers approved an implementation Action Plan on 20 March 2024 with a 1bn som (approx $11m) budget allocation across 2024-2026. This is Kyrgyzstan's first standalone strategic-minerals framework instrument; it complements but does not duplicate the 2021 Mining Code (governance framework, not strategy).

OFAC published a final rule on January 12, 2024 adjusting the maximum civil monetary penalty (CMP) ceiling amounts across five statutory authorities as mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (as amended by the 2015 Improvements Act). The 2024 adjustment multiplier is 1.03241 (reflecting the October 2022–October 2023 CPI-U change). Penalties under IEEPA rise from $356,579 to $368,136; TWEA penalties from $105,083 to $108,489; and the Narcotics Kingpin Act maximum from $1,771,754 to $1,829,177. The rule is issued as a final rule effective on publication without prior notice and comment under the non-discretionary "good cause" exemption.

Law No. 2 of 11 January 2024 (Gazzetta Ufficiale Serie Generale n. 10 of 13 January 2024, in force 14 January 2024) converts with amendments Decreto-Legge 15 November 2023, n. 161 ("Disposizioni urgenti per il «Piano Mattei» per lo sviluppo in Stati del Continente africano") into permanent law. The statute establishes Italy's first formal Africa-policy framework: a four-year strategic plan adopted by Presidential Decree (subject to parliamentary opinion), a Steering Committee ("Cabina di Regia") at Palazzo Chigi chaired by the Prime Minister, and a Mission Structure inside the Presidency to coordinate implementation. The Plan organises intervention along five thematic pillars (education/training, health, agriculture, water, energy / climate-energy nexus) across an initial nine pilot countries — Algeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Republic of Congo, and Tunisia — with an announced ~EUR 5.5bn envelope drawn primarily from the Italian Climate Fund (~EUR 3bn) and pre-existing development-cooperation resources (~EUR 2.5bn). Positions Italy as a transit corridor and industrial gateway between African resources and EU industry, layering onto the EU Global Gateway / Critical Raw Materials Act perimeter.

Qatar's Cabinet approved and publicly launched the Third National Development Strategy (NDS3) 2024-2030 on 10 January 2024, the final-stage framework on the path to Qatar National Vision 2030. NDS3 targets average annual GDP growth of 4%, a 25% GHG-emissions reduction, and a skilled-workforce share rising to 46% of the labour force, anchored by LNG capacity expansion from ~77 mtpa to ~142 mtpa and diversification into manufacturing, logistics, financial services, and tourism clusters. It is the parent umbrella under which all sectoral implementing strategies — including the Qatar National Manufacturing Strategy 2024-2030 — and all QIA sovereign-wealth deployment criteria operate through 2030.

The Significant Investments Review Act 2024 (Act No. 1 of 2024) is Singapore's first horizontal, cross-sector statutory FDI screening regime. The Bill was passed by Parliament on 9 January 2024, assented to by the President on 6 February 2024 and gazetted on 14 February 2024; the Act commenced on 28 March 2024 under the SIRA 2024 (Commencement) Notification (S 228/2024), together with the Significant Investments Review Regulations 2024 (S 229/2024). The Act creates an "ownership-and-control" layer over a limited number of "designated entities" the Minister for Trade and Industry has identified as critical to Singapore's national-security interests, plus an "any entity" call-in power exercisable against firms that have acted against Singapore's national-security interests, regardless of whether they are designated. Acquisitions of ≥5% require post-closing notification within 7 days; acquisitions of ≥12% / ≥25% / ≥50% and cessations of ≥50% / ≥75% controller status require prior ministerial approval. Administered by the Office of Significant Investments Review (OSIR) within MTI. SIRA is the Singaporean structural peer of US CFIUS, EU Regulation 2019/452, the German AWG §§55-62, the French Décret 2014-479, the UK NSI Act 2021, the Netherlands Wet Vifo, and the Canada ICA national-security review.

The Government of Tamil Nadu released the Tamil Nadu Semiconductor and Advanced Electronics Policy 2024 at the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet on 7 January 2024. The policy provides a state top-up equal to 50% of the central India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) incentive for any unit approved under the central semiconductor-fab / display-fab / compound-semiconductor / ATMP / sensor / silicon photonics / discrete semiconductor schemes, plus standalone state incentives (capital subsidy, training subsidy, product testing & prototyping support, land cost concessions, stamp duty refund, electricity tax exemption, quality certification, IP, and interest subsidy). Minimum investment threshold is ₹200 crore with a minimum of 150 jobs for the initial ₹200 crore tranche; the policy is valid for three years from the date of notification and is implemented by Guidance Tamil Nadu, the state's investment-promotion agency.

In January 2024, the Sierra Leone Government notified Sierra Rutile Holdings Limited (ASX: SRX) that the reduced royalty rate of 0.5% agreed in the 2021 third-amendment agreement to the Sierra Rutile licence would no longer apply, and that the pre-2001 fiscal regime would govern Area 1 operations retroactively from 1 July 2023. The reversion imposed an estimated USD 12.6 million in additional royalty obligations for the 2023 financial year, rising to USD 25 million+ through 2026. Sierra Rutile issued a suspension notice to government in late January 2024, with Area 1 halting in March 2024; the government directed resumed operations in May 2024 under a new power contract, while the underlying fiscal dispute remained unresolved.