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

Japan's Cabinet decided on 2026-07-03 to extend for a further five years the 30.8% anti-dumping duty on dipotassium carbonate (K2CO3, used as a raw material in LCD glass and detergents) originating in South Korea. The duty was first imposed 2021-06-24 through 2026-06-23; following a June 2025 extension petition from domestic producer AGC Inc. and a MOF/METI investigation launched August 2025, the Customs Tariff Council's special duties subcommittee found a continued/recurring risk of dumped imports and material injury, and recommended a 5-year extension. The amending Cabinet Order (Cabinet Order No. 223 of 2026) was promulgated 2026-07-08 and took effect 2026-07-09, extending the duty period to 2031-07-07 at the unchanged 30.8% rate.

On 15 January 2026, Brazil's Gecex executive committee (Câmara de Comércio Exterior) published Resolução nº 845, amending Annex IX of the base tariff-nomenclature resolution (Gecex nº 272/2021) to temporarily raise import duties above the Mercosur Common External Tariff on eight NCM product lines. Affected products include sodium pyrophosphate and ammonium carbonate (17.5%), propylene glycol, expandable polystyrene and polymethyl methacrylate (20%), sorbitol (20%, with a 12.6% carve-out for a specific food/pharma-grade aqueous solution), and wood screws (25%). The increases took effect 19 January 2026 and expire 18 January 2027, a one-year window functioning as a safeguard-style protection for domestic chemical, plastics and fastener producers.

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

The US Department of Commerce preliminarily determined that chromium trioxide (chromic acid anhydride, used in chrome plating and surface-finishing) from India and Türkiye is being sold in the United States at less than fair value, following a September 2025 petition by American Chrome & Chemicals. Commerce set a preliminary weighted-average dumping margin and cash-deposit rate of 14.44% for India's Vishnu Chemicals (12.00% cash-deposit rate) and 40.88% for Türkiye's Şişe ve Cam Fabrikaları, triggering suspension of liquidation and cash-deposit collection on covered entries from both countries effective 2026-05-22. The investigation period was July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025; final determinations are scheduled for 2026-08-10 (Türkiye) and 2026-10-07 (India, aligned with the companion countervailing-duty case).

Brazil's Câmara de Comércio Exterior (Gecex) approved Resolução nº 844, de 30 de dezembro de 2025, amending Annexes IV and V of the base tariff-nomenclature resolution (Gecex nº 272/2021) to modify import tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) and duties on 15 products, effective 1 January 2026. The resolution establishes new duty-free (0%) TRQs for 11 product categories — including nutritional supplements (30 metric tons/year), animal-feed additives, contact lenses (a combined 40.375 million units/year across two NCM headings), electrical cable connectors, and glass ampoules — while removing existing duty-free quota treatment for four products (a thermal-control polyethylene film, a rubber sanitary/contraceptive item under NCM 4014.10.00, an anhydrous sodium-compound chemical under NCM 2836.20.10, and one further excluded product), whose duty reverts from 0% to the standard Mercosur Common External Tariff (TEC) rate. The measure is a routine periodic tariff-schedule maintenance action rather than a trade-remedy or policy-driven restriction.

Brazil's Câmara de Comércio Exterior (Gecex) approved Resolução nº 821, de 1º de dezembro de 2025, amending Annex V (Letec — List of Exceptions to the Common External Tariff) and Annex X (List of Temporary Exceptions for Automotive Products under ACE 14) of the base tariff-nomenclature Resolução Gecex nº 272/2021. The resolution took effect on the date of its publication in the Diário Oficial da União. Global Trade Alert tracks the measure as four discrete tariff-line interventions bundled under one state act: (1) an import-tariff increase on butyl and sodium-polyacrylate chemical inputs, effective 5 December 2025; (2) a reduction of the import tariff to zero for a pharmaceutical product under NCM 3004.90.79, effective 5 December 2025; (3) a new import tariff-rate quota for a chemical/pigment product under NCM heading 3306.11, effective 5 December 2025; and (4) an import-tariff increase on 16 medical-device products under NCM 9018.90.99, effective 2 December 2025. Two of the four sub-measures are duty increases (harmful to importers) and two are duty reductions/new liberalising quotas — consistent with Gecex's routine periodic tariff-schedule maintenance cycle rather than a targeted trade-remedy or industrial-policy action.

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs International Trade Administration (MOEA-ITA) issued a pre-notice (17 November 2025, doc. 經授貿字第 11450120760號) proposing amendments to the "Dual-Use Goods and Technology Export Control List" and the "General Military Goods List" under the Strategic High-Tech Commodities (SHTC) regime, adding or reclassifying items in the basic-inorganic-chemicals, chemical-products, and engines/turbines categories to align with Wassenaar Arrangement list updates. Following the standard 60-day public-comment period, MOEA-ITA published the finalised amendment on 11 February 2026 (doc. 經貿字第 11550200140號), effective immediately, requiring exporters of the newly listed dual-use and military goods to obtain prior export licences regardless of destination.

Brazil's Câmara de Comércio Exterior (Gecex) approved Resolução nº 815, de 3 de novembro de 2025, amending Annex IV of the base tariff-nomenclature resolution (Gecex nº 272/2021) under the Mercosur supply-shortage tariff-reduction mechanism (Mercosur CMC Resolution nº 49/19). The resolution establishes five new duty-free (0%) temporary import tariff-rate quotas — DHA nutritional preparation (80 metric tons/year), rubber gasket/retainer parts (6,250 kg/year), linen yarn (240 metric tons/year), ballistic steel plate (400 metric tons/year) and loudspeakers (5 million units/year) — valid 7 November 2025 to 6 November 2026, while removing an existing duty-free quota for monocalcium phosphate (NCM 2835.26.00), reverting that line to the standard Mercosur Common External Tariff rate.

Brazil's Câmara de Comércio Exterior (Gecex) approved Resolução nº 799, de 10 de outubro de 2025, amending Annex IV of the base tariff-nomenclature resolution (Gecex nº 272/2021) under the Mercosur supply-shortage tariff-reduction mechanism (Mercosur GMC Resolution nº 49/19). The resolution establishes ten new duty-free (0%) temporary import tariff-rate quotas covering sodium metabisulfite (24,650 t/year), bisphenol A (10,000 t/year), a microbial inoculant (3,948 units/year), fibrous-grade anatase titanium dioxide (1,500 t/year), banknote security ink (12,000 kg/year), two grades of polyether for concrete additives (2,500 t and 700 t/year), aliphatic polyisocyanate (15,000 t/year), electrolytic manganese metal flakes (972 t/year), and 345kV aluminum conductor power cable (4,000 t/year). Quotas run for one year from their individual validity start dates (16 October 2025 or 27 November 2025 depending on product), granting duty-free entry within volume caps where domestic Mercosur supply is judged insufficient.

On 6 October 2025, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 8 Mexican individuals and 12 Mexico-based companies under Executive Order 14059 for supplying fentanyl precursor chemicals and laboratory equipment to the Sinaloa Cartel's "Los Chapitos" faction, led by fugitive brothers Archivaldo Ivan and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar (sons of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera). The network is centred on Sumilab, a chemical and lab-equipment supplier previously sanctioned by OFAC in May 2023, which restructured through affiliated pharmaceutical, laboratory, chemical, cleaning-supply and real-estate front companies to continue operating after the earlier designation. All property and interests in property of the designated persons within US jurisdiction or held by US persons are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from transacting with them.

Brazil's Câmara de Comércio Exterior (Gecex) approved Resolução nº 788, de 10 de setembro de 2025, amending Annex IV of the base tariff-nomenclature resolution (Gecex nº 272/2021) under the Mercosur supply-shortage tariff-reduction mechanism (Mercosur GMC Resolution nº 49/19). The resolution establishes six new duty-free (0%) temporary import tariff-rate quotas: spray-dry detergent powder (800,000 t/year), vitamin B12 (20 t/year), the cell therapy Tisagenlecleucel (48 units), sulphur black dye (6,000 t/year), elastomultiester bicomponent polyester synthetic filament (1,100 t/year), and high-voltage (345kV-class) electrical cable (1,550 t/year). Quotas run for one year from their individual validity start dates, which range from 15 September 2025 to 22 January 2026 depending on product, granting duty-free entry within volume caps where Mercosur-region supply is judged insufficient.

Presidential Decree No. 606 of 29 August 2025 amends the standing list of foreign-owned Russian assets under "temporary management" (established by Decree No. 302 of 25 April 2023) to add the shares of Air Liquide's Russian subsidiaries, transferring control to M-Logistika LLC, a Russian company. Reported affected entities include Air Liquide's joint venture with steelmaker Severstal and regional operating units (Alabuga, Balakovo, Lipetsk, Ryazan, Kstovo, Kuzbass, Sever Liquid Gas), covering the bulk of the French industrial-gas group's Russian footprint. The decree entered into force on its date of official publication and is one of a running series of company-specific amendments to Decree 302, Russia's reciprocal-response mechanism for placing "unfriendly state" companies' Russian assets under state administration.

Brazil's Câmara de Comércio Exterior executive committee (Gecex) approved Resolução nº 779, de 28 de agosto de 2025, amending Annex V of the base tariff-nomenclature resolution (Gecex nº 272/2021). The resolution opens a new one-year, 25,000-tonne tariff-rate quota at a reduced 3.6% duty for chromium sulfate powder (NCM 2833.29.60), adds two natural-rubber lines (TSNR and granulated/pressed rubber, NCM 4001.22.00 / 4001.29.20) to the reduced-tariff annex at 10.8% with no volume cap, and simultaneously removes three antibiotic active-ingredient import lines — piperacillin/ tazobactam, ceftazidime, and meropenem (NCM 3004.10.19, 3004.20.59, 3004.20.99) — from the same reduced-tariff annex, reverting them to the standard (higher) MFN duty.

Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) signed a loan agreement on 2025-07-11 for approximately USD 46 million with MGC Pure Chemicals America, Inc. (MPCA), the US subsidiary of Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company. Co-financed alongside Bank of Yokohama, Hachijuni Bank, and Joyo Bank, the total co-financing package reaches USD 77 million. Proceeds fund expansion of MPCA's Arizona production capacity for ultra-pure hydrogen peroxide and ultra-pure ammonium hydroxide — semiconductor-grade chemicals used for silicon-wafer cleaning and etching — as JBIC states, to strengthen Japanese supply-chain resilience and support US semiconductor manufacturing demand. This is MPCA's second JBIC-backed expansion loan, following a USD 36 million (JBIC portion) facility signed in April 2024 for the same production line.

Vietnam's government issued Decree 199/2025/NĐ-CP on 8 July 2025, amending Decree 26/2023/NĐ-CP's Export Tariff and Preferential Import Tariff Schedules. The headline change is a staged export-tax increase on yellow phosphorus, from 5% currently to 10% effective 1 January 2026 and 15% effective 1 January 2027 — a resource-nationalism measure to discourage raw export of an input used in electronics, agrochemical, and specialty- chemical production. The decree also narrows the 0% preferential import tariff window for tin-mill blackplate (TMBP) steel to end-August 2025 and adjusts minimum-production-volume conditions for the auto-parts tariff incentive programme covering electric, hybrid, and fuel-cell vehicle manufacturing/assembly.

The US Department of Commerce preliminarily determined that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of silicon metal from Laos, Australia, Norway, and Thailand, publishing four parallel preliminary affirmative CVD determinations on 2025-09-26 following an initiation on 2025-05-21 (petition by Ferroglobe USA, Inc. and Mississippi Silicon LLC). For Laos, Commerce set a preliminary countervailable-subsidy cash-deposit rate of 240.00% ad valorem for both the sole mandatory respondent, Lao Silicon Co., Ltd., and the all-others rate, based entirely on adverse facts available after finding the respondent did not cooperate. Companion CVD investigations against Australia, Norway, and Thailand were found affirmative the same day, each with its own preliminary subsidy-rate cash-deposit schedule. Commerce ordered CBP to suspend liquidation and require cash deposits at the indicated rates on covered entries from the Laos determination onward. Final CVD determinations are aligned with companion antidumping investigations on the same product.

The US Department of Commerce, following affirmative final less-than-fair-value determinations and an affirmative material-injury finding by the US International Trade Commission, issued antidumping duty orders on silicon metal from Angola and Laos, effective 2026-04-16. Commerce set a 68.45% ad valorem weighted-average dumping margin for Angola (both named respondents and the all-others rate) and a 94.44% margin for Laos, both based entirely on adverse facts available after the respondents did not cooperate with the investigation. The orders stem from an April 2025 petition by Ferroglobe USA, Inc. and companion less-than-fair-value investigations initiated 2025-05-21 that also covered Australia and Norway, where preliminary and final LTFV determinations followed on a later schedule.

On 5 April 2024 Japan's Cabinet adopted an amendment to the Export Trade Control Order, following a 1 March 2024 Cabinet understanding, extending the export prohibition on goods that strengthen Russia's industrial base. The additional goods span parts of HS chapters 27 (mineral fuels and oils), 28 (inorganic chemicals), 39, 73, 81 (tungsten powder, molybdenum, cobalt, zirconium, rhenium), 82, 84, 85 (including lithium-ion and nickel-metal-hydride batteries), 89 and 90, with the specific goods fixed by ministerial ordinance and notices issued on 10 April. The export ban applies from 17 April 2024. A separate METI notice bans imports of non-industrial diamonds of Russian origin from 10 May 2024, regardless of port of shipment.

The US Department of Commerce preliminarily determined that producers and exporters of silicon metal from Kazakhstan received countervailable subsidies at a 120.00% economy-wide rate, and instructed US Customs and Border Protection to begin collecting cash deposits from importers at that rate. The countervailing-duty investigation was initiated 2020-07-27 following a June 2020 petition by Globe Specialty Metals, Inc. and Mississippi Silicon LLC, the same domestic petitioners behind the concurrent antidumping cases against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, and Malaysia. 2019 Kazakh silicon metal imports subject to the case were valued at approximately $14.9 million.

The US Department of Commerce preliminarily determined that silicon metal from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland is being sold in the United States at less than fair value, and instructed US Customs and Border Protection to begin collecting cash deposits from importers. Bosnia and Herzegovina's sole respondent, R-S Silicon d.o.o., and the all-others rate were set at 21.41%; Iceland's sole respondent, PCC Bakki Silicon hf, received 47.54%, with the all-others rate at 37.83%. A concurrent antidumping investigation of silicon metal from Malaysia, initiated on the same 2020-07-27 date, was not part of this preliminary determination and remained pending. The case followed a July 2020 petition by Globe Specialty Metals, Inc. and Mississippi Silicon LLC.