Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2665 actions· ✨ 90 recent

President Trump signed an Executive Order on June 3, 2026 restructuring the entire US customs-entry compliance architecture for global importers. Key provisions impose heightened bonding minimums and domestic-asset requirements for foreign importers of record (IORs), require CAATSA-compliance and supply-chain-disclosure certifications, restrict foreign IORs to formal entry only (creating a de facto US-IOR monopoly on informal entry), establish a "good standing" requirement for IOR eligibility, and sharply curtail CBP's mitigation authority while setting enhanced penalty floors. DHS/CBP is directed to implement penalty-floor, export-documentation, and disposal provisions within 90 days (~September 2026) and the IOR structural reforms within 180 days (~November 2026). The EO is structurally distinct from tariff-rate instruments (Section 232 Proclamations 11021/11032), trade-remedy channels (USTR Section 301), statutory forced-labor enforcement (UFLPA), and targeted-sanctions channels (BIS/OFAC) — it reshapes the foundational compliance architecture through which all goods enter the US market.

Premier Li Qiang signed State Council Order No. 839 on 20 May 2026, promulgating the "Regulations for the Implementation of the Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China" (8 chapters, 79 articles), effective 15 June 2026. The Regulations are the primary implementing instrument for the revised Mineral Resources Law and establish a unified governance architecture across the entire mineral value chain — exploration, production, processing, stockpiling, and emergency supply mobilisation — with inter-agency coordination spanning MNR, NDRC, MIIT, the State Grain and Material Reserves Administration, NEA, and the State Administration of Mine Safety. The Regulations introduce a three-layer strategic reserve system (physical stockpiles, production-capacity reserves, and in-ground strategic areas), grant the state authority to directly organise mining and distribution during supply emergencies (Article 59), and explicitly authorise countermeasures against nations that restrict China's access to mineral supply chains (Article 76).

The Central Bank of Sudan (CBOS) issued Circular No. 12/2026 and Circular No. 13/2026 on 14 May 2026, restructuring Sudan's gold export regime. Circular 12/2026 abolished restrictions on exporters' use of gold and commodity export earnings — permitting proceeds to fund any Ministry of Trade-authorised import via an "intermediate import account" (21-day utilisation window) — and formally terminated the CBOS monopoly on gold purchases, allowing registered private traders to export through official channels. Circular 13/2026 established a daily gold incentive price (international 24-karat benchmark minus USD 10 per troy ounce, converted to USD per gram), published through the XAR electronic system; commercial banks and export-clearing authorities must clear shipments at or above this price.

A divided three-judge panel of the US Court of International Trade (CIT), in Slip Op. 26-47 (Court Nos. 26-01472 and 26-01606, decided 7 May 2026), held 2-1 that President Trump's Proclamation 11012 — which imposed a temporary 10% ad-valorem import surcharge under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 — exceeded statutory authority because the proclamation did not identify a "fundamental international payments problem" as defined by the 1974 Congress (the balance-of-trade or current-account deficit relied upon by the government is not the type of balance-of-payments deficit the statute contemplates). The court issued a permanent injunction prohibiting CBP from collecting Section 122 duties from the three prevailing plaintiff- importers and ordered refunds with statutory interest for duties already paid; it declined to issue a nationwide injunction. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) entered an administrative stay of the CIT injunction on 12 May 2026 pending appeal, and the CIT denied the government's own motion to stay its ruling on 20 May 2026; the CAFC appeal is now pending.

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính issued Directive 38/CĐ-TTg on 5 May 2026, mobilising a cross-ministerial enforcement campaign against intellectual property infringement running 7–30 May 2026 with a 31 May reporting deadline. The directive explicitly responds to the USTR 2026 Special 301 designation of Vietnam as a Priority Foreign Country — the first such designation in eleven years — which triggers a statutory 30-day window for USTR to decide whether to open a Section 301 investigation. Ministries of Public Security, Industry and Trade (Market Surveillance), Information and Communications, and Culture are mobilised for coordinated raids targeting counterfeit-goods exporters, pirated-content platforms, and software-copyright violators, with the Prime Minister signalling enforcement will be permanent rather than a one-off campaign.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative released the 2026 Special 301 Report on 30 April 2026, designating Vietnam as a Priority Foreign Country (PFC) — the most severe category under Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. § 2242). This is the first PFC designation since Ukraine held the status from 2013 through 2015, a gap of approximately 11 years. The PFC designation triggers a statutory 30-day window (expiring ~30 May 2026) within which USTR must decide whether to initiate a Section 301 investigation under 19 U.S.C. § 2412(b)(2)(A), which could lead to tariffs, withdrawal of trade benefits, or other Section 301 enforcement remedies against Vietnam. Separately, the EU was added to the Watch List for the first time, citing AI training-data, geographical-indications, and customs-enforcement concerns.

Minister of Trade Regulation No. 12 of 2026, signed by Trade Minister Budi Santoso and effective on its date of promulgation (29 April 2026), is the fifth amendment to Permendag 23/2023 on Export Policy and Regulation. It introduces a new discretionary authority — distinct from administrative sanctions — for the Director General of Foreign Trade to suspend issuance of, freeze, and revoke Business Licensing in the Export Sector (Perizinan Berusaha di Bidang Ekspor), and to suspend verification / technical-tracing services. Crucially, it institutionalises cross-ministerial initiating authority: other ministries and agencies may formally propose suspension / freezing / revocation, with proposals reviewed in coordination meetings convened under the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs or the Coordinating Ministry for Food Affairs. Decisions are issued via INATRADE / SINSW with automated notification to exporters. The stated rationale is protecting national interests, public welfare, government-programme implementation, and presidential directives — operationalised as safeguarding domestic supply of "certain goods" (palm oil, rice, sugar, mineral, and fertiliser categories cited in policy framing).

Prime Ministerial Decree No. 1440 of 2026 was published in Egypt's Official Gazette (Al-Waqa'i Al-Misriyya) on 6 May 2026 and entered into force on 7 May 2026. The decree amends the Executive Regulations of Mineral Resources Law No. 198 of 2014, replacing operative provisions previously governed by Prime Ministerial Decree No. 108 of 2020. Key changes include reducing the minimum government-equity floor for MRMIA participation in mining JVs from 25% to 10%, empowering MRMIA to incorporate or participate in specialised exploration and exploitation companies inside and outside Egypt, revising rental rates and royalty parameters, introducing a new laboratory-licensing regime, and adding land-use prohibitions around archaeological sites, airports, railways, and pipelines.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) Raw Materials Industry Division opened a 30-day public consultation on 28 April 2026 on the Administrative Penalty Discretion Standards Table operationalising the State Council's Rare Earth Management Regulation (Order No. 785, in force 1 October 2024). The draft sets a tiered fines schedule for breaches across the entire mining → smelting → separation → sales value chain — fines up to five times "illegal gains" for production-quota breaches under 10%, escalating to product/equipment confiscation and licence revocation for breaches over 30%. Traceability-reporting failures under MIIT's national rare-earth traceability platform are penalised separately with fines up to ten times illegal gains. Comments close 28 May 2026.

On 21 April 2026 the European Commission issued a conditional clearance under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR, Regulation 2022/2560), requiring the exclusion of CRRC (China's largest rolling-stock manufacturer) from the Lisbon Metro Violet Line procurement — the first-ever FSR procurement remedy ordering a Chinese supplier exclusion from a specific EU public contract. The Commission found that CRRC received foreign subsidies enabling it to submit an unduly advantageous tender, and as a condition of clearance mandated CRRC's removal from the tender. CRRC was replaced by PESA (Polish rail manufacturer) as the selected bidder. Unlike the 2024 Bulgaria/CRRC case (FSP.100147) where CRRC voluntarily withdrew before a formal decision, the Lisbon case produced the first binding FSR exclusion remedy, establishing mandatory supplier-removal as an available enforcement outcome in EU public procurement.

On 16 April 2026 the Government of Burkina Faso published Decree No. 2026-0287/PF/PRIM/MEF/MEMC in the Journal Officiel du Burkina Faso, authorising SOPAMIB — the state's strategic mining-participation vehicle — to acquire an additional 25% stake in Kiaka SA, the operating entity of West African Resources' (ASX: WAF) Kiaka gold mine, for 70 billion CFA francs (~A$175M / USD $125M). The acquisition raises total state equity from the 15% mandatory free-carry established under the 2024 Mining Code (Loi N°016-2024) to 40%, leaving West African Resources with a 60% operating interest; WAF's Sanbrado and Toega operations are not referenced in the decree. West African Resources confirmed the decree via an ASX regulatory announcement on 21 April 2026, noting that net proceeds will be returned to shareholders as a special dividend and that WAF will work with SOPAMIB to finalise transaction terms by end-2026. This action is structurally distinct from the June 2025 SOPAMIB nationalisation of five Endeavour/Lilium assets (Wahgnion, Boungou, three exploration entities), which involved a full transfer; the Kiaka decree is a compulsory additional equity dilution at a specific operating mine, deepening the Burkinabè junta's resource-nationalism arc under President Capt. Ibrahim Traoré.

On 15 April 2026 Tanzania's Minister for Minerals Hon. Anthony Mavunde announced at a press conference in Dodoma the revocation of 40 idle mineral exploration licences covering 188,163 hectares, following a ministerial assessment that found widespread licence-holder breaches: hoarding of blocks without development activity, non-payment of statutory fees and royalty obligations, failure to meet local-content requirements under GN 563/2025, and neglect of corporate social responsibility obligations to host communities. Revoked areas are to be reallocated under the "Mining for a Brighter Tomorrow" (MBT) framework with explicit preference for small-scale miners, women, youth, and persons with disabilities. A companion default-notice batch issued on 10 April 2026 covered 43 additional licences (40 exploration + 3 medium-scale mining) with 30-day rectification windows before further revocations proceed.

FinCEN issued an amendment to its June 30, 2025 special-measure order (90 FR 27770) that had prohibited US covered financial institutions from transmitting funds to or from CIBanco S.A., a Mexican multiple-banking institution previously designated as of primary money-laundering concern in connection with illicit-opioid trafficking. Effective April 16, 2026, the amendment authorizes transmittals of funds ordinarily incident and necessary for the Government of Mexico to liquidate CIBanco. The carve-out is narrow: the broader §2313a prohibition on US-side correspondent activity with CIBanco remains in force outside the liquidation channel.

Premier Li Qiang signed State Council Order No. 835 on 13 April 2026 promulgating the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Countering Foreign States' Unlawful Extraterritorial Jurisdiction" (20 articles), effective on the date of publication. The Regulations are the first State Council–level administrative regulation to operationalise the PRC's framework for identifying and countering foreign extraterritorial measures on a horizontal basis, complementing the 2021 Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law and the March 2025 AFSL implementation regulations. Article 5 establishes a State Council–led inter-agency coordination mechanism; Article 6 vests the State Council legal affairs department (the Ministry of Justice in practice) with authority to identify "improper" foreign extraterritorial measures and to grant exemptions; Article 8 authorises a new Malicious Entity List targeting foreign organisations and individuals that "promote or participate in implementing" such measures, with nine countermeasure categories spanning visa denial, asset freezing, trade restrictions and fines; Article 11 codifies an exemption-application channel under which Chinese persons facing conflicting legal demands may request approval to comply with foreign measures within a defined scope; Article 14 authorises a private right of action for harmed Chinese citizens and organisations to sue parties enforcing such measures; and Article 18 elevates enforcement beyond administrative penalties by referencing potential criminal liability.

The US Bureau of Industry and Security issued a final rule (RIN 0694-AK74, 91 FR 17851, FR doc 2026-06851, signed 7 April 2026, published 9 April 2026, effective 7 April 2026) extending two compliance dates in the January 2025 Foundry Due Diligence (FDD) interim final rule that introduced the "Authorized IC Designer" / "Approved IC Designer" framework for advanced-computing integrated circuits controlled under ECCN 3A090.a. The prior 13 April 2026 cutoff for Authorized IC Designer status — the self-certification pathway available to designers headquartered in Country Group A:1 / A:5 / Taiwan and not parented in Macau or D:5 — is moved to 31 December 2026, and the application window to become an Approved IC Designer is extended to the same date with a subsequent 180-day authorization runway. The rule is a procedural deadline-extension only; it does not change the substantive scope, eligibility criteria, ECCN classifications, or end-use / end-user restrictions of the FDD IFR.

On 7 April 2026, Morocco's Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, officially launched the Cadastre Minier Numérique du Maroc (dmcm.mem.gov.ma) at GITEX Africa in Marrakech — a national digital registry consolidating geological potential data, administrative records and regulatory information for all mining titles nationwide. The platform dematerialises permit application, renewal and monitoring procedures previously run through paper-based, region-by-region administrative circuits, and is framed by MTEDD as part of a broader ongoing mining sector reform. No budget, title count, or phased-deployment timeline was disclosed at launch.

DGFT Notification No. 03/2026-27, issued 2 April 2026 under sections 3 and 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act 1992 and the Foreign Trade Policy 2023, reclassifies several Chapter 71 tariff lines — covering silver-clad base metals (ITC-HS 71090000), articles of precious metals (HS 7114–7115 series), and non-legal-tender coins — from "Free" to "Restricted" import status, requiring DGFT prior authorisation for each import consignment. The notification simultaneously liberalises certain platinum semi-finished forms (HS 7110 series) from Restricted to Free, except platinum alloys containing more than 1% gold content. No transitional relief applies: prior contracts, letters of credit, advance payments, or shipments in transit are not exempted, making the restriction immediately operative. EOU and SEZ units are carved out provided imported goods are not diverted into the Domestic Tariff Area.

Premier Li Qiang signed State Council Order No. 834 on 31 March 2026 promulgating the "Provisions on Industrial Chain and Supply Chain Security" (18 articles), adopted at the State Council executive meeting on 13 March 2026 and effective on the date of publication. The Provisions are the first dedicated PRC administrative regulation on industrial- and supply-chain security and consolidate authorities drawn from the National Security Law, Foreign Relations Law, Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, and Foreign Trade Law into a horizontal defensive framework. They establish a cross-agency coordination mechanism spanning roughly 15 central departments (industrial, security, cyberspace, customs and financial regulators) plus provincial governments; create a security-investigation system; and vest broad countermeasure authority over both foreign states (Article 14 — import/export prohibitions and special levies) and foreign organisations and individuals (Article 15 — import/export bans, China-investment bars, transaction prohibitions, entry bars and revocation of work or residence permits, with extension to effectively-controlled subsidiaries). The Provisions also impose compliance, information-sharing, strategic-reserve and emergency-response obligations on PRC organisations and individuals, and authorise requisition, mandated production and directed transportation in the event of supply-chain disruption.

On March 29, 2026, the DRC Conseil des Ministres approved a draft decree modifying and supplementing Decree n°11/28 of June 7, 2021, which establishes the statute of the Centre d'Expertise, d'Evaluation et de Certification (CEEC). The reform formally enshrines CEEC as a "certification authority" recognized in law — a role previously exercised in practice but lacking explicit statutory grounding. CEEC gains explicit authority to determine the physicochemical characteristics of all mineral substances produced on DRC territory, covering the nature, chemical composition, geographic origin, and legal provenance of exports across all strategic minerals including cobalt, copper, coltan, cassiterite, gold, and tantalum.

Minister of Trade Regulation No. 5 of 2026, signed on 26 March 2026 and effective 1 April 2026, is the fourth amendment to Permendag 23/2023 on Export Policy and Regulation. It introduces three substantively significant changes: (i) restricts issuance of Export Approval (Persetujuan Ekspor / PE) for ilmenite and rutile concentrate to holders of IUP/IUPK Operasi Produksi mining permits — eliminating the prior Izin Usaha Industri (IUI) industrial pathway — extending Indonesia's hilirisasi vertical-integration doctrine to titanium feedstock; (ii) removes the Eksportir Terdaftar (ET) registered- exporter requirement for industrial tin exports, simplifying the export chain to PE + Laporan Surveyor (LS) only; (iii) mandates electronic and automatic issuance of PE where the integrated INATRADE/SINSW system documentation is complete, digitising the export-licensing chain. Additional changes tighten kratom ET validity to a three-year cap and reassign marine-species transport- document authority from the Ministry of Forestry to the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries.

Minister of Trade Regulation No. 6 of 2026 (Permendag 6/2026), signed 26 March 2026 and effective 1 April 2026, amends the appendix of Permendag 22/2023 on Goods Prohibited for Export, making four substantive changes to Indonesia's prohibited-export list: (i) nitrogen-containing mineral and chemical fertilizers, including urea in all forms, are added to the prohibited-export list as a food-security instrument; (ii) rice is removed from the prohibited-export list, partially reversing a long-standing prohibition; (iii) rough wood, sawn wood, and wood carpentry and building products are added as value-added-export-requirement items, extending Indonesia's hilirisasi downstream-processing doctrine from minerals into the forestry-products sector; and (iv) rattan weaving materials remain prohibited for export. Together with the simultaneously enacted Permendag 5/2026 (fourth amendment to Permendag 23/2023 on export-licensing procedures), this forms Indonesia's most consequential 2026 export-regulation package.

On 24 March 2026 Mexico's Supreme Court (SCJN), sitting in full Pleno session, unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the 2022 lithium nationalisation law (Decreto reforming the Mining Law and creating LitioMx) when resolving Acción de Inconstitucionalidad 78/2022 brought by a Senate minority (33 % of senators). The court affirmed Articles 1, 5 bis, and 10 of the Mining Law — which reserve all lithium exploration, exploitation, processing, and commercialisation exclusively to the State via the LitioMx decentralised public body and prohibit private concessions entirely — are constitutional, provided implementation follows established procedures requiring technical support and Mexican Geological Service validation. The ruling closes the last formal constitutional challenge to Mexico's state-monopoly lithium regime, confirming a permanent exclusion of private capital from the full lithium value chain.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order No. 110 on March 24, 2026, declaring a one-year State of National Energy Emergency in response to Middle East supply disruptions, including potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz, that threaten petroleum import flows to the Philippines. The order activates the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT), suspends normal procurement requirements for emergency energy acquisition, grants the Department of Energy (DOE) emergency fuel-import authority, and releases a ₱20 billion emergency fund to secure fuel supply. The emergency regime also mandates accelerated renewable-energy transition and promotion of EVs in public transport to reduce long-run import dependency.

Kazakhstan's Department of Atomic Energy signed a new Subsoil Use Agreement (SUA) for production at the Akdala uranium deposit, effective 29 March 2026, replacing the expired March 2001 contract. Subsoil rights are held by YUGHK LLP (South Mining and Chemical Company Joint Venture), in which Uranium One (a Rosatom subsidiary) owns 70% and Kazatomprom 30%. The deposit holds approximately 1,500 tonnes of uranium reserves and is expected to operate through 2030, after which the asset is subject to trust management transfer to Kazatomprom as the national company. The renewal was signed expressly to prevent disruption to the technological process and maintain social stability in the region, preserving Rosatom's controlling stake in a single producing Kazakhstani deposit at a time when Kazakhstan is otherwise tightening state control over strategic mineral assets.

Peru's Mining Council (Consejo de Minería) issued Resolution No. 236-2026-MINEM/CM on 19 March 2026, declaring null and void Directoral Resolution No. 0692-2025-MINEM/DGM of 13 October 2025, which had authorised Southern Peru Copper Corporation (SPCC, NYSE: SCCO; subsidiary of Grupo México) to begin exploitation activities at the Tía María copper project in Islay province, Arequipa. The council found the original DGM authorisation lacked adequate legal motivation and failed to address two technical observations relating to waste-dump infrastructure design and construction-sequencing plans, as required under the Regulation of Mining Procedures and the consolidated text of the Administrative Procedures Act (Law 27444). The resolution returned the file to the General Directorate of Mining (DGM) for technical re-evaluation, without terminating the project's administrative procedure; MINEM subsequently re-authorised the project's first-stage La Tapada open-pit operations on approximately 20 April 2026 after a revised technical assessment.

Ghana's Parliament passed the Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill on March 13–14, 2026, reducing the GSL rate on mining companies' gross production from 3% to 1%; the Act received Presidential assent on March 31, 2026. The amendment is a deliberate companion offset to the Minerals and Mining (Royalty) Regulations, 2025, which replaced the prior flat royalty with a sliding-scale framework (5–12% indexed to gold price) effective March 2026. Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson framed the GSL cut as a strategic compromise to maintain investment competitiveness while the higher royalty regime captures the upside from gold prices above $4,000/oz; the net government-take trajectory is still upward at high gold prices, but mining companies receive partial relief on the levy side.

On 12 March 2026 Senegal's Primature held a press conference releasing mid-term findings of the National Commission for the Re-evaluation and Renegotiation of Petroleum, Gas, and Mining Contracts, created in August 2024 under Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko's reform programme. The Commission identified a 1,075.9 billion FCFA shortfall in the mining sector — concentrated in unpaid taxes/royalties and unauthorised tax exemptions at ICS (Industries Chimiques du Sénégal) — and announced the termination of four offshore oil-exploration blocks (Djifer Offshore, Kayar Offshore, Saint-Louis Offshore, Rufisque Offshore). Renegotiation of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas project, operated by BP with Kosmos Energy and Woodside as partners on the Senegal-Mauritania maritime border, is under active examination; the Primature projects 900 bn FCFA in incremental fiscal revenue 2026-2040 from the contract revision programme. This is Senegal's first major instance of retroactive resource-contract review under the Sonko-Faye government and establishes the legal-political baseline for subsequent contract renegotiations across the 27 mining contracts and remaining hydrocarbon licences under Commission review.

Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM) issued Decreto Supremo N° 002-2026-EM on 5 March 2026, modifying Decreto Supremo N° 017-2018-EM (Reglamento del Mecanismo de Racionamiento de Gas Natural) to establish a binding six-tier priority order for natural gas allocation whenever the rationing mechanism is formally activated during declared energy emergencies. Tiers prioritise residential and regulated commercial consumers at the top, followed by CNG vehicle/public-transport stations, regulated industrial consumers by volume threshold, independent consumers with firm contracts, and interruptible-contract holders at the base. The decree imposes binding obligations on natural-gas producers, pipeline-transport concessionaires, distribution concessionaires, and LNG-plant operators to optimise production and supply during declared emergencies, with Osinergmin empowered to grant temporary regulatory exemptions. The decree was triggered by the 2 March 2026 Megantini district rupture of Transportadora de Gas del Perú's (TGP) main Camisea pipeline, which reduced supply to approximately 9–10% of normal capacity and forced Cálidda (Lima/Callao distributor) to cut gas to 850 industrial users and all thermal power plants.

Mozambique's Council of Ministers, at its 6th Ordinary Session on 3 March 2026, approved resolutions establishing two Interministerial Coordination Committees — one for the Development Plan of Area 1 of the Rovuma Block (the TotalEnergies-led Mozambique LNG project, formerly Anadarko) and one for Area 4 of the Rovuma Block (the ExxonMobil/Eni-led Rovuma LNG / Coral South / Coral Norte projects). Both committees are chaired by the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy and include the ministers of finance, economy, transport and logistics, labour, and land and environment, plus INP, the Tax Authority, and the Bank of Mozambique as technical participants. The mandate is to monitor and ensure the rapid, coordinated government assessment of amendments to the development plans for these projects, which together represent approximately USD 50bn+ in committed capital in Cabo Delgado province and are the primary drivers of Mozambique's projected fiscal revenue stream through 2060+.

Niger's military-led Conseil des Ministres (CNSP) on March 3, 2026 adopted three decrees terminating the establishment agreements of COMINI SARL, AFRIOR SA, and ECOMINE SA — gold mining and refining companies operating in Niger. The grounds cited are failure to pay taxes, non-submission of annual technical and financial reports, and breach of local-development financing commitments since 2023. Formal notices had been issued to the companies on February 17 and July 23, 2025 before the terminations. The action extends the CNSP's systematic tightening over strategic-resource industries, which also saw uranium licence revocations and a mine nationalisation in 2024–2025.

Sultan Haitham bin Tariq issued Royal Decree 39/2026 on 1 March 2026, published in the Sultanate of Oman Official Gazette Issue 1638 on 8 March 2026 (effective the following day), enacting a new Statute of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) and consolidating the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates under the unified OPAZ regulatory umbrella. The Statute restructures OPAZ's institutional architecture for administering Oman's 23 special economic zones, free zones, and industrial cities, expands OPAZ's supervisory and oversight powers — including project registration, licensing, permits, approvals, certificates, regulation of municipal services within zones — and mandates a single-window platform consolidating the full suite of zone-related services for investors. The decree is the institutional-governance complement to the substantive SEZ/FZ framework established by Royal Decree 38/2025 and operationalises the Vision 2040 economic-diversification strategy at the binding regulatory-authority layer, covering RO 22.4 bn (~USD 58 bn) in cumulative committed investment across the OPAZ-administered zone network.

Directive (EU) 2026/470 of 24 February 2026, published in the EU Official Journal on 26 February 2026 and entered into force on 18 March 2026, amends the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD, Directive (EU) 2022/2464) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD, Directive (EU) 2024/1760). It raises CSRD scope thresholds to undertakings with more than 1,000 employees and more than EUR 450 million net turnover, raises CSDDD scope thresholds to entities with more than 5,000 employees and EUR 1.5 billion turnover (and non-EU entities with EUR 1.5 billion EU turnover), drops the requirement to adopt or put into effect a climate transition plan under CSDDD, and replaces reasonable-assurance with limited-assurance for CSRD reports. CSRD-related provisions must be transposed by 19 March 2027; CSDDD-related provisions by 26 July 2028.

President Trump signed Executive Order "Ending Certain Tariff Actions" on 20 February 2026 (Federal Register doc 2026-03832, published 25 February 2026), terminating the additional ad-valorem duties imposed under nine prior IEEPA-based executive orders. The order followed within hours of the US Supreme Court's 6-3 decision the same day in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, 607 U.S. ___ (2026), holding that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the President to impose tariffs and vacating the Trump 2.0 IEEPA tariff regime. The EO directs CBP to cease collection "as soon as practicable"; CSMS guidance set the collection-end date at 12:00 a.m. eastern on 24 February 2026. The order explicitly preserves all underlying national-emergency declarations and all non-IEEPA trade actions — Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, Section 301 of the Trade Act, Section 122 of the Trade Act, and Section 201 — so the Section 232 cascade and the paired Section 122 10% temporary surcharge (effective 24 Feb 2026) remain in force. This is the first SCOTUS-driven repeal of a presidential tariff regime in the modern era and recalibrates the entire post-2024 US tariff architecture by removing IEEPA as a legal pillar.

Kenya's Senate introduced the Artificial Intelligence Bill, 2026 (Senate Bills No. 4 of 2025) on 19 February 2026, sponsored by Nominated Senator Karen Nyamu; the bill received its first reading on 2 April 2026 and was committed to the Senate Standing Committee on Information, Communication and Technology for public-input review. The bill establishes a risk-based AI regulatory framework explicitly modelled on the EU AI Act (Regulation 2024/1689), creating a four-tier classification (prohibited / high-risk / limited-risk / minimal-risk) with conformity- assessment, technical-documentation, and human-oversight obligations for high-risk AI systems. It creates the Office of the Artificial Intelligence Commissioner as a new statutory regulator with licensing, enforcement, and administrative-penalty powers, and bans social-scoring systems, real-time remote biometric identification in public spaces, emotion recognition in workplaces and education, and predictive policing based on profiling. The bill is the first comprehensive national AI regulatory instrument in Africa, closing a structural geographic gap in the global AI-governance architecture and positioning Kenya as the Brussels-effect template-recipient for the African continent.

At the Maiden Mining Local Content Summit held in Takoradi on 18 February 2026, Minerals Commission CEO Isaac Tandoh announced the revocation of more than 300 small-scale mining licences held fraudulently or left dormant, alongside a comprehensive regulatory reset covering all segments of Ghana's mining sector. The reform package includes the repeal of L.I. 2462 (which had permitted mining in forest reserves), introduction of a new medium-scale licensing tier, a sliding-scale gold royalty regime designed to increase state capture during high-price periods, and mandatory local-content thresholds across procurement, employment, and equity participation. Surface-mining operations will be required to use fully Ghanaian-owned contractors; underground-mining contracts must carry at least 50% Ghanaian ownership. The reforms structurally affect large-scale operators including Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti, Zijin Mining, and Atlantic Lithium.

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (DOD, GSA, and NASA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on 17 February 2026 (FR Doc 2026-03065, 91 FR 7223) implementing Section 5949(a) of the NDAA FY2023 (Pub. L. 117-263), which bars executive agencies from acquiring electronic products or services containing semiconductor components designed, produced, or provided by SMIC, CXMT, YMTC, or their affiliates. A Part B prohibition extends the restriction to "critical systems" whose subsystems incorporate covered semiconductors regardless of COTS sourcing. The comment period closed 20 April 2026; proposed prohibitions take effect 23 December 2027.

On 13 February 2026 President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed Executive Order No. 9 of 2026 directing all Production Sharing Contract operators and contractors to remit Royalty Oil, Tax Oil, Profit Oil, and Profit Gas directly to the Federation Account, bypassing prior NNPC Limited intermediated collection. The order simultaneously eliminates NNPC Limited's 30% management fee on profit oil/gas, suspends the 30% Frontier Exploration Fund deduction, and redirects Gas Flare Penalty proceeds to the Federation Account — materially walking back the fiscal architecture established under Petroleum Industry Act 2021 §§ 9 and 53. An Implementation Committee chaired by the Minister of Finance was established to operationalise the order and resolve disputes.

Sultan Haitham bin Tariq issued Royal Decree 27/2026 on 11 February 2026, published in Official Gazette 1635 on 15 February 2026, entering into force 30 days later on 17 March 2026. The decree enacts the GCC Common Industrial Regulatory Law as binding Omani national law, implementing the GCC-wide harmonised framework originally adopted at the Supreme Council level (RD 61/2008) with an expanded scope covering manufacturing, service, advanced technology, knowledge, and environmental industries. The law mandates prior industrial licensing for all new and materially modified industrial projects, sets unified approval, revocation, and compliance standards, and explicitly repeals prior conflicting national provisions — completing Oman's implementation of the common GCC industrial regulatory architecture alongside parallel implementations in UAE, KSA, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait. This is one of three simultaneous Royal Decrees issued on 11 February 2026, alongside RD 28/2026 (GCC Unified Customs Law amendments) and RD 39/2026 (OPAZ Statute restatute), forming a coherent 2026 Omani industrial and economic-zone architecture restatement.

DGFT Notification No. 58/2025-26, issued 5 February 2026 under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act 1992, reclassifies imports of articles of platinum under ITC (HS) code 71141920 from "Free" to "Restricted", bringing them under Policy Condition No. 6 of Chapter 71 of the ITC (HS). Importers must obtain the requisite DGFT authorisation before undertaking such imports. Re-import of Indian-made platinum articles previously exported for exhibitions/export-promotion tours, and re-import of goods sent abroad for repair, remain "Free" and are unaffected by the change.

On 3 February 2026 the European Commission opened an in-depth Phase II investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) — the second FSR ex officio case and the first targeting the renewable-energy wind-OEM sector — into whether Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd. and its EU affiliates received Chinese foreign subsidies (grants, preferential tax treatment, and state-bank preferential financing) that distort competition for wind-turbine supply and services in the EU internal market. The case (FS.100143) follows the April 2024 preliminary-review opening and subjects Goldwind to an 18-month Phase II investigation with potential redressive-measures decision. The action structurally extends the FSR enforcement perimeter from security equipment (Nuctech, FS.100068) into the green-transition energy-equipment supply chain.

On 2 February 2026 Kazatomprom disclosed in its 4Q25 Operations and Trading Update that it had amended multiple Subsoil Use Agreements (SUAs) to reduce the total 2026 licensed annual production ceiling from 32,777 tU to 29,697 tU — a reduction of approximately 3,080 tU (~9.4%). The primary driver is construction and commissioning delays at the Budenovskoye uranium deposit (JV with Uranium Energy Corp / UrAsia, Kazatomprom 51%), preventing the planned ramp-up. Revised 2026 production guidance of 27,500–29,000 tU on a 100% basis sits below the revised licensed ceiling, indicating that actual deliveries will be further constrained; force-majeure notices were issued to long-term offtake counterparties affected by the Budenovskoye shortfall. Kazakhstan accounts for approximately 43% of global primary uranium mine supply, making even a licensed-capacity adjustment a material signal for the global U3O8 and UF6 supply curve.

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