Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2662 actions· ✨ 89 recent

On 3 July 2026 the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) issued a final injury finding in Inquiry NQ-2025-009, determining that dumped (and, for non-cooperating exporters, subsidized) imports of truck bodies from China have caused material injury to the Canadian domestic industry. Final anti-dumping duties of 119.4% (Qingdao CIMC Reefer Trailer Co., Ltd.) and 257.1% (all other exporters) are now collected by CBSA on goods released on or after 3 July 2026. CBSA separately terminated the parallel subsidy (countervailing duty) investigation with respect to CIMC Reefer on 4 June 2026 after finding its subsidy margin (0.9%) insignificant; CBSA and CITT statements indicate the countervailing-duty track continued and duties are being collected for the non-cooperating "all other exporters" category.

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.

Presidential decree signed by President Claudia Sheinbaum and published in the evening edition of the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 23 April 2026, in force 24 April 2026. The decree amends the Tariff of the Ley de los Impuestos Generales de Importación y de Exportación (LIGIE/TIGIE) and the Decreto que establece diversos Programas de Promoción Sectorial (PROSEC), imposing MFN import duties at 5%, 10%, 15%, 25%, 30% or 35% ad valorem on 185 tariff fractions covering chemical products, cosmetics, paper and cardboard, textiles, steel, graphic arts, aluminum manufactures, auto parts, electrical material, bicycles, musical instruments, furniture, wind turbines, and trailers. Goods originating in countries with which Mexico has a free-trade agreement remain eligible for preferential treatment, so practical incidence falls on China and other non-FTA suppliers (Korea, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Brazil, Indonesia, Taiwan, UAE, South Africa). Paired PROSEC modifications add tariff fractions to Article 5 sections I, II.b and XIX (electrical, electronic, automotive and auto-parts industries) at exempt (EX) rates.

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.

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy extended its ban on the export of petroleum products — including gasoline, diesel, aviation kerosene, gasoil, toluene, xylene, bitumen, and LPG — for a further six months from May 21 to November 21, 2026. The restrictions apply to exports by road and rail, including shipments to fellow EAEU member states. The measure continues a rolling domestic-price-stabilisation regime that has been renewed since at least 2024; the prior extension ran to May 20, 2026.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order No. 113 on April 13, 2026, promulgating the 13th Regular Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL) — the first FINL update in four years, superseding the 12th FINL under EO 175 (2022). The order retains the constitutionally mandated 40% foreign equity ceiling on exploration, development, and utilisation of natural resources (including large-scale mining), and reserves small-scale mining 100% for Filipino nationals. It codifies liberalisations from RA 11659 (Public Service Act), RA 11595 (Retail Trade Liberalisation Act), and RA 11647 (Foreign Investments Act amendments), formally reclassifying telecommunications, airlines, domestic shipping, and railways as sectors open to up to 100% foreign ownership.

South Africa's International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) recommended, and SARS implemented on 19 March 2026, definitive five-year anti-dumping duties on U, I and H sections of iron or non-alloy steel (structural steel, HS 7216.31, 7216.32, 7216.33 and 7216.40) imported from China (74.98%) and Thailand (20.32%). The investigation, initiated on an application by ArcelorMittal Rails and Structures (AMRAS), found dumped imports — totalling 28,800 tonnes in 2023/24, with China supplying ~65% — were causing material injury to the SACU domestic industry (full findings in ITAC Report 759). The definitive duties layer on top of an existing 10% ordinary customs duty and a 13% SACU-wide steel safeguard duty, bringing the effective total import burden on Chinese structural steel to approximately 98% above the base tariff.

On 4 February 2026, East Coast Railway — a zonal railway of India's Ministry of Railways — launched a tender for the design and construction, on an EPC basis, of loop lines at existing stations, valued at INR 127.80 crore (approx. USD 15.4 million). The tender embeds a domestic-content preference under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017 (as amended), consistent with the wider batch of India localisation-preference tenders already tracked in this register. GTA records the intervention as announced/implemented on 4 February 2026.

Northeast Frontier Railway issued a tender for the design, supply, erection, and commissioning of tunnel ventilation and electrical systems, valued at INR 114.78 crore (~USD 12.7 million). The tender embeds a domestic-supplier bid-evaluation preference margin under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017, giving Class-I local suppliers an advantage in the electrical-equipment/civil-engineering procurement categories. Global Trade Alert records the intervention as announced/implemented 4 February 2026.

Brazil's Câmara de Comércio Exterior (Gecex) approved Resolução nº 848, de 29 de janeiro de 2026, amending Annexes IV (supply-shortage tariff reductions), V (Letec exceptions list) and VI (LEBIT/BK — IT/telecom and capital-goods exceptions list) of the base tariff-nomenclature resolution (Gecex nº 272/2021). The measure grants a new 0% duty-free tariff-rate quota of 2,500 tonnes/year for poly(oxyethylene) methallyl ether (HPEG, NCM 3907.29.92) through 26 November 2026; adds 0% duty treatment for an esketamine hydrochloride nasal-spray medicine (NCM 3004.90.39) and several pharmaceutical active ingredients including amprenavir and efavirenz (NCM 3004.90.78); and adds cellular base-station antennas (NCM 8517.71.20, 25,000-unit quota through 19 August 2026), diesel-electric locomotives (NCM 8602.10.00, through 25 February 2027) and panoramic maxillary X-ray equipment (NCM 9022.13.11, at a 12.6% rate) to the LEBIT/BK exceptions list. Most changes take effect 1 February 2026 (some 2 February 2026); Article 7 directs SECEX to publish complementary quota-allocation criteria.

On 2026-01-26 the US Department of Commerce initiated antidumping (LTFV) and countervailing duty investigations covering van-type trailers and subassemblies thereof from Canada, China, and Mexico, following a petition filed 2025-11-20 by the American Trailer Manufacturers Coalition (Great Dane, Stoughton Trailers, Wabash National). On 2026-06-15 Commerce issued its preliminary affirmative LTFV determination for China, setting a preliminary antidumping duty rate of 130.76% on Chinese van-type trailer imports, effective on publication and triggering CBP duty collection at the border. Companion countervailing-duty and Canada/Mexico proceedings are tracked separately.

On 2026-01-26 the US Department of Commerce initiated countervailing duty (anti-subsidy) investigations covering van-type trailers and subassemblies thereof from Canada, China, and Mexico, companion to the antidumping investigation covering the same product and countries. On 2026-06-05 Commerce published preliminary affirmative CVD determinations: China received an 82.37% subsidy rate for CIMC Baowell Industries/Qingdao CIMC Reefer Trailer and all other exporters, and a 128.78% adverse-inference rate for non-responsive companies; Mexico received rates of 1.90-1.95% for cooperating respondents (Hyundai de Mexico, Utility Trailer Manufacturing de México) and a 62.67% adverse-inference rate for five non-responsive companies. The Canada CVD investigation was terminated on 2026-05-27 after the petitioner withdrew that portion of the petition. Cash deposits at the preliminary rates began on Federal Register publication; final CVD determinations are scheduled for 2026-08-24 (China) and 2026-10-13 (Mexico).

India's Ministry of Railways, through Northeast Frontier Railway's construction organisation, issued Request for Proposal (Tender No. CE/CON/DK/EPC/2026/01) worth INR 306.10 crore for tunnel-protection and associated works on the Dimapur-Kohima (Dhansiri-Zubza) new broad-gauge railway line in Nagaland. The tender embeds a domestic- supplier bid-evaluation preference margin under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017, giving Class-I local suppliers an advantage across civil-engineering and general-construction categories. Global Trade Alert records the intervention as announced/implemented 23 January 2026; contract value (INR 306.10 crore, ~USD 36.9 million) is disclosed on GTA's state-act record.

Brazil's national development bank BNDES approved a BRL 350 million (~USD 60 million) loan, drawn from the earmarked Fundo Clima (Climate Fund) concessional line, for rail freight operator Rumo S.A. to acquire six hybrid (diesel-electric) locomotives and at least 160 tank wagons. The equipment is dedicated to expanding biofuel logistics capacity — chiefly corn ethanol from the Center-West region — with BNDES and Rumo citing a 32% increase in annual biofuel-transport capacity (928,000 m³/year) versus 2024 volumes and an estimated 62,300 tonnes/year of CO2 reduction from the road-to-rail modal shift.

China's Ministry of Finance, NDRC, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, People's Bank of China and National Financial Regulatory Administration jointly issued Cai Jin [2026] No. 4 on 2026-01-19, establishing a central-fiscal loan interest-subsidy scheme for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) operating in 14 designated industrial-chain and emerging-industry sectors. Eligible loans originated from 2026-01-01 receive a 1.5-percentage-point annual interest subsidy for up to two years, capped at RMB 50 million in principal per enterprise (maximum subsidy RMB 1.5 million per enterprise). The policy is tentatively set to run one year with a possible extension.

On 15 January 2026, Canada's Minister of Housing and Infrastructure announced the federal government's CAD 950.9 million contribution — matched by a CAD 950 million Ontario investment, for a combined CAD 1.9 billion — toward the Toronto Transit Commission's contract with Alstom Americas for 55 new subway trains (New Subway Train / Line 2 fleet). The procurement is publicized as the first implementation instance of the Buy Canadian Procurement Policy Framework (in force since 16 December 2025): TTC states 55% of train content will be Canadian-sourced, with final assembly at Alstom's Thunder Bay, Ontario plant and testing in Kingston, Ontario, creating roughly 900+ direct and 1,700+ indirect jobs. Global Trade Alert logs the intervention as a public-procurement localisation measure affecting India and the United States as the countries where Alstom's competing manufacturing bases (and rival bidders) would otherwise have supplied the contract.

On 14 January 2026 the European Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/124, amending Annex XXVIII to Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014, lowering the price cap on seaborne Russian crude oil (CN code 2709 00) from USD 47.6 to USD 44.1 per barrel, effective 1 February 2026. This is the first application of the automatic dynamic-adjustment mechanism introduced by the 18th sanctions package (Council Regulation (EU) 2025/1494, July 2025), which re-indexes the cap every six months to 15% below the 22-week trailing average Urals market price. Contracts concluded before 31 January 2026 with cargo offloaded by 16 April 2026 remain subject to the prior USD 47.60/bbl cap. The UK aligned with an equivalent reduction the same day.

On 15 January 2026 the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), acting under regulation 64 of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, amended the 'Oil Price Cap' General Licence (INT/2024/4423849) to lower the price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil from USD 47.60 to USD 44.10 per barrel, effective 23:01 on 31 January 2026. Contracts signed at the prior USD 47.60 cap before that time are subject to a wind-down period, remaining valid provided the oil is offloaded at the port of destination by 22:59 on 16 April 2026. The cut applies the six-monthly dynamic-adjustment formula (15% below the 22-week trailing average Urals price) and was announced in lockstep with the EU's equivalent Implementing Regulation 2026/124.

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) issued a tender (RFP ref. BMRCL/Phase-3/P3/Double Decker/2026/145, 13 January 2026) for construction of elevated structures — metro viaduct, rail-cum-road flyover, and stations spanning approximately 6.652 km — as part of the Bangalore Metro Phase 3 double-decker corridor, with a disclosed contract value of INR 1,415.65 crore (~USD 165-170 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 13 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.

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.

President Daniel Noboa signed Executive Decree 273 on 31 December 2025 (effective 1 January 2026), the most significant overhaul of Ecuador's mining regulation since the 2009 Mining Code. The decree amends the Reglamento General a la Ley de Minería to (i) replace the fixed 3–8% royalty range with a price-indexed sliding scale tied to a trailing three-year LME reference price, (ii) require all mining projects to supply 100% of their electricity needs (no grid draw), (iii) tighten exploration-phase timelines and introduce automatic extinction of concessions where activities do not begin in time, (iv) modify royalty-deduction rules so gold/silver royalties are computed on gross revenue without deductions while small/medium operators of other metals can still deduct refining/transport/benefit costs, and (v) allocate 60% of mining royalties to social projects via decentralised governments (45% provincial, 35% municipal, 20% parochial). The decree was published in Registro Oficial Suplemento 195 of 31 December 2025 and is not retroactive.

Brazil's national development bank BNDES approved R$1.05 billion (~USD 179 million) in support for Eldorado Brasil Celulose (J&F group) to build an 86.7km private railway linking its Três Lagoas (MS) pulp mill to a terminal at Aparecida do Taboado (MS), feeding the Rondonópolis-Santos export corridor. R$1 billion is structured as BNDES's subscription of the first infrastructure debentures issued under Brazil's Law 14,801/2024, with a further R$50 million via the conventional Finem credit line. The financing reduces Eldorado's logistics costs and displaces an estimated 50,000 truck trips per year, indirectly reinforcing Brazil's cost advantage over competing pulp exporters such as Uruguay's UPM and Montes del Plata mills.

Brazil's national development bank BNDES approved BRL 2 billion (~USD 340 million) in support for Rumo S.A. via subscription of the full volume of debentures the company issued to fund the first 162km stage of the Ferrovia de Mato Grosso (FMT), a state railway linking Rondonópolis (MT) to a BR-070 grain terminal at Dom Aquino (MT) with capacity to move up to 10 million tonnes of grain per year. The stage is part of a planned ~743km, five-phase FMT network connecting Rondonópolis to Lucas do Rio Verde with a branch to Cuiabá, and follows two other 2025 BNDES-coordinated debenture issuances (BRL 4.8 billion raised across three issuances in 2025) financing Rumo's Mato Grosso and Malha Paulista rail investments.

The European Commission approved a EUR 61 million Belgian state rescue loan to Lineas Group, Europe's largest private rail-freight operator, to cover short-term liquidity needs. The Commission cleared the loan under Article 107(3)(c) TFEU and the EU Guidelines on Rescue and Restructuring Aid (case SA.120185), citing an unexpected slowdown in industrial demand for rail freight in the European steel, automotive and chemical sectors. Belgium has committed to submit a restructuring plan if the loan is not repaid within six months. In a related decision (case SA.101469) the Commission found that two earlier 2023-2024 capital injections into Lineas by the Belgian sovereign fund SFPIM alongside private co-investor Argos Wityu were made on market terms and do not constitute state aid.

On 9 December 2025, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and General Administration of Customs jointly issued Announcement No. 79 of 2025, reinstating an export-licence management system for ~300 HS-coded steel products effective 1 January 2026. Exporters must obtain a per-contract licence supported by a manufacturer-issued product quality inspection certificate; licences are issued by MOFCOM (for centrally-administered SOEs) and provincial / sub-provincial commerce departments. The regime is the first reinstatement of Chinese steel-export licensing in 16 years (since 2009) and applies the export-licensing instrument — previously used for critical minerals and dual-use goods — to a non-critical bulk commodity for the first time.

On 9 December 2025, Saudi Arabia's Local Content & Government Procurement Authority (LCGPA) issued the December 2025 batch expansion of its Mandatory List — a binding instrument requiring government entities, state-owned enterprises, and sub-contractors to source listed products exclusively from Saudi domestic manufacturers meeting the LCGPA-defined local-content threshold. The December 2025 expansion brings the list to approximately 1,444 national products across 16 sectors, effective 1 March 2026, with LCGPA targeting a total of approximately 2,000 products by end-2026. The Mandatory List operationalises the demand-side layer of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 / National Industrial Strategy (NIS) industrial-policy stack, directly restricting foreign-supplier access to Saudi annual government-procurement budgets estimated at SAR 500 billion+ across central government, Aramco, PIF-portfolio entities, Ma'aden, SEC, STC, Saudi Post, and Saudi Railway.

On 3 December 2025 Russia's federal Industry Development Fund (FRP) disclosed a concessional loan of RUB 2.4 billion (approx. USD 30.2 million) to Liteyny Zavod "Petrozavodskmash" (LZ PZM), a foundry subsidiary of rail-equipment group Transmashholding (TMX), to fund purchase of casting and machining equipment. The financing supports a project titled "Localisation of foundry blanks for various diesel engines," shifting the plant from simple castings toward complex cylinder-head and engine-suspension components (new capacity: 13,800 cylinder heads and 7,000 engine suspensions per year) for diesel engines used by Kolomna Plant and Penza Diesel. The loan was disclosed the same day Karelia's regional head, Artur Parfenchikov, opened a new 1,700 sq m machining section at the foundry, with TMX framing the project as advancing Russia's "technological sovereignty" in engine manufacturing (import substitution for diesel engine components).

China Development Bank announced a CNY 30 billion (~USD 4.2bn) special loan facility dedicated to the China-Europe Railway Express (中欧班列), financing construction of corridor, port and logistics-hub infrastructure plus working-capital support for enterprises operating the service. The scheme was unveiled at the Second China-Europe Railway Express International Cooperation Forum in Xi'an, alongside a matching CNY 30bn facility from the Export-Import Bank of China. CDB's Jiangsu, Henan and Shaanxi branches signed initial project-financing agreements with Lianyungang Port Holding Group, Henan International Logistics Hub Construction and Operation Co., and Xi'an International Port Group respectively.

Mozambique's Council of Ministers, at its 39th Ordinary Session on 18 November 2025, approved the terms and conditions of a concession contract granting a state-company consortium the exclusive right to finance, construct, import, and operate (i) a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) LNG terminal at Beira and Inhassoro (Inhambane province), and (ii) the 865-km ROMPCO gas pipeline connecting Mozambican gas fields to South Africa via Komatipoort — both for a 30-year concession term. The concessionaire is a Specific Object Entity (Entidade de Objecto Específico, EOE) constituted by four state enterprises — the National Hydrocarbon Company (ENH, E.P.), Mozambique Ports & Railways (CFM), Mozambique Electricity (EDM), and Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric (HCB) — plus government-selected technical and financial partners. The decree marks the first midstream LNG infrastructure-rights award in Mozambique and represents a foundational shift toward state-led control of the country's regasification and cross-border pipeline architecture rather than concession to international IOCs.

NIB, the multilateral development bank owned by the eight Nordic and Baltic member states, signed a SEK 1.2 billion (EUR 108.9 million) loan with AB Transitio, a Swedish rolling-stock leasing company owned by regional public transport authorities, to finance the acquisition of 13 new double-decker trains on behalf of Mälardalstrafik AB. Deliveries begin in spring 2028 with entry into service through 2029, expanding regional rail capacity across the Stockholm-Mälardalen region (four counties, roughly 40% of Sweden's GDP). NIB below-market development-bank financing functions as a state-adjacent subsidy to domestic rail-fleet procurement.

The Government of Manitoba announced CAD 51 million in new provincial funding for Arctic Gateway Group — the First Nations- and Bayline community-owned operator of the Hudson Bay Railway and Port of Churchill — to fund capital improvements bringing the rail line up to Class I freight-load standard and to build a new critical-minerals storage and loading facility at the port. The announcement was made jointly with the federal government as part of the "Port of Churchill Plus" initiative, bringing cumulative provincial investment in the project to CAD 87.5 million and combined federal-provincial commitment to CAD 262.5 million over five years (including CAD 175 million in federal funding announced March 2025). The project is explicitly positioned as building sovereign Arctic export capacity for critical minerals and potash, reducing reliance on southern rail/port corridors and US-routed trade.

On 11 November 2025 President Mamadi Doumbouya officially inaugurated start of operations at the Simandou Integrated Project — Africa's largest greenfield mine-and-infrastructure asset — at a ceremony attended by the presidents of Rwanda and Gabon, China's Vice-Premier, and PMs from Côte d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone. The project comprises Blocks 1–2 (WCS: Winning International / China Hongqiao / Baowu) and Blocks 3–4 (SimFer: Rio Tinto 53% / Chinalco-led JV 47%), connected by 622 km of multi-use trans-Guinean railway to barge and transhipment port facilities at Forécariah, operated by Compagnie du TransGuinéen (CTG). Combined design capacity is up to 120 Mt/yr of high-grade (~65% Fe) iron ore, the largest single addition to seaborne supply since Vale's S11D ramp in 2016, structurally reshaping Australia-Brazil price competition and China's iron-ore import geography.

On 29 October 2025 the Swiss Federal Council amended the Ordinance on Measures in Connection with the Situation in Ukraine (SR 946.231.176.72), published as AS 2025 662, completing Switzerland's alignment with the remaining goods, finance and services elements of the EU's 18th Russia sanctions package (Council Regulation (EU) 2025/1494, 18 July 2025) and tightening the parallel Belarus regime. The amendment took effect 30 October 2025 and adds: an export ban covering additional structural-metal, general-purpose-machinery and machine-tool goods; an import ban on further petroleum-oil products and waste/scrap categories; and expanded controls on commercial transactions and investment instruments spanning financial services, investment banking, crude-petroleum trade and motor-vehicle/trailer goods. The Federal Department of Economic Affairs (WBF) had already taken over the measures within its own competence on 12 August 2025; this decision closes the remainder. In parallel, the Federal Council's asset-freeze annexes were extended to 14 individuals and 41 companies/organizations.

The European Commission approved a French State aid scheme (case SA.117491) that partially reimburses the "T2" pension surcharge paid by rail-freight transport companies for certain statutory employees who continue working in the sector after leaving incumbent operator SNCF. The scheme runs for ten years from 1 January 2025 with a EUR 225 million budget, ccompensating compensating new employers for the employer's share of the T2 contribution so that hiring former SNCF statutory staff does not carry a pension-cost penalty relative to hiring non-statutory workers. The Commission cleared the measure under Article 107(3)(c) TFEU as compatible State aid aimed at correcting a competitive distortion inherited from France's historic rail-pension architecture.

On 23 October 2025, the Council of the European Union adopted the 19th package of restrictive measures against Russia, anchored by Council Regulation (EU) 2025/2033 amending Regulation 833/2014 (sectoral sanctions), Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2035 amending Regulation 269/2014 (asset-freeze listings — 22 individuals + 42 entities, total 69 listings), and Council Regulation (EU) 2025/2041 (parallel Belarus measures). The package closes the Russian-LNG import loophole left open by the 18th package and establishes the architectural template for crypto-asset sanctions. Headline measures: (i) full prohibition on imports of Russian-origin LNG into the EU — short-term contracts banned six months from entry into force (effective 25 April 2026), long-term contracts (> 1 year, executed before 17 June 2025) phased out by 1 January 2027; (ii) full transaction ban on Rosneft and Gazprom Neft (tightening prior partial measures); (iii) five additional Russian banks added to Annex XIV transaction ban (Alfa-Bank, MTS Bank among them; effective 12 November 2025); (iv) full transaction bans on the Mir card payment system and the Faster Payments System (SBP), effective 25 January 2026; (v) first-ever EU sanctions on a stablecoin — the rouble-backed A7A5 (issuer + developer designated) — and a Paraguay-based cryptocurrency exchange used as a circumvention rail; (vi) prohibition on EU operators contracting with 11 listed Russian Special Economic Zones (Annex LII), with mandatory divestment from Alabuga (Tatarstan) and Technopolis Moscow effective 25 January 2026 — no five-year wind-down available; (vii) 45 entities added to Annex IV military end-user list (28 Russian + 17 third-country: 12 Chinese/Hong Kong, 3 Indian, 2 Thai); (viii) new export restrictions on electronic components, microelectronics, acyclic hydrocarbons, pneumatic rubber tires and propellant chemicals (~EUR 155 m of EU 2024 exports); (ix) prohibition on supply of AI, HPC, and quantum-computing services to Russian persons (effective 25 November 2025); (x) tourism-services ban (1 January 2026 wind-down); (xi) 117 additional shadow-fleet vessels listed (cumulative 557, exceeding the 18th package's 444); (xii) four Belarus + Kazakhstan banks listed for SPFS use (effective 2 December 2025); (xiii) binding ownership/control definitions added to Reg. 269/2014 (50 % proprietary-rights threshold + eight-criterion control test). Entry into force on 24 October 2025 (day following publication in OJ L_202502033), except for measures with explicit deferred application dates.

Australia's Anti-Dumping Commission initiated a dumping and countervailing investigation on 23 October 2025 into freight railway wheels (forged and rolled high-carbon steel, 27.5"-37.5" outside diameter, Australian HS 8607.19.00.20) imported from China, following an application from Commonwealth Steel Company Pty Ltd. On 22 December 2025 the Commission issued Anti-Dumping Notice No. 2025/128, a preliminary affirmative dumping determination, imposing a provisional antidumping duty of 36.9% (applied uniformly to cooperating and non-cooperating exporters) via securities collected on imports from that date. The parallel countervailing-subsidy investigation continues; the Commission found insufficient evidence at this stage to support a preliminary affirmative countervailing determination.

East Central Railway (a zonal railway under India's Ministry of Railways) issued a Notice Inviting Tender on 4 October 2025 for a civil-engineering works package valued at approximately INR 2,998.93 crore. As with the parallel NHAI/NHIDCL/UPMRC tender filings on this register, the NIT embeds a domestic-supplier local-content requirement and bid-evaluation purchase-preference margin under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017, giving Class-I local suppliers an advantage in the civil-engineering, general-construction, and site-preparation-services categories. Global Trade Alert logs this as a public-procurement preference-margin intervention.

The European Commission approved EUR 24.5 million (EUR 22.2 million in real terms) of Italian state aid to Interporto Bologna, the public-private operator of a multimodal freight terminal near Bologna sitting at the junction of three TEN-T corridors. The direct-grant funding, notified by Italian authorities and cleared on 2 October 2025 under the "no objection" procedure, covers roughly 73% of the aid-relevant cost of adding five 750-metre rail tracks and expanding the platform by about 80,000 m², against total project costs of EUR 33.4 million. The stated policy purpose is to shift Emilia-Romagna freight traffic from road to rail; construction began July 2024 with the expanded terminal targeted for 2027.

Western Coalfields Limited (WCL), a Coal India subsidiary under India's Ministry of Coal, issued a tender on 1 October 2025 for removal of overburden material and extraction of coal at its Dhoptala mine (Maharashtra), valued at approximately INR 1,324.20 crore. As with the parallel NHAI/NHIDCL/UPMRC/East Central Railway tender filings on this register, the tender embeds a domestic- supplier local-content requirement and bid-evaluation purchase- preference margin under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017. Global Trade Alert logs this as a public-procurement preference-margin intervention.

On 24 September 2025 the Federal Railroad Administration published in the Federal Register a withdrawal-and-reissue of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the FY2024-2025 National Railroad Partnership Program / Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program for projects off the Northeast Corridor (FSP-National), making up to USD 5,070,784,989 available for competitive intercity passenger-rail capital awards, including roughly USD 2.4bn de-obligated from the California High-Speed Rail project. Global Trade Alert logs the NOFO as a public-procurement-localisation intervention because FRA capital-assistance grants carry standing Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) domestic-content and final-assembly requirements. The reissue also withdrew DEI- and climate-related selection criteria attached to the prior Biden-era version of the NOFO. Applications were due 7 January 2026.

On 18 September 2025 the Bundestag adopted the Gesetz zur Errichtung eines Sondervermögens "Infrastruktur und Klimaneutralität" (SVIKG), authorising up to EUR 500 bn of additional federal borrowing over a twelve-year horizon outside the constitutional debt brake, on the basis of the new Article 143h Grundgesetz inserted by the March 2025 constitutional amendment. The envelope splits into up to EUR 100 bn for Länder and municipal infrastructure (channelled via the companion Länder- und Kommunal-Infrastrukturfinanzierungsgesetz, LuKIFG, passed 9 October 2025), EUR 100 bn transferred to the Klima- und Trans- formationsfonds (KTF) in annual instalments through 2034, and up to EUR 300 bn for additional federal investments in transport, energy/ heat, hospital, education, digitalisation, civil protection and R&D infrastructure. Investments are eligible retroactively from 1 January 2025 and may be approved through 31 December 2036; loan repayment begins no later than 1 January 2044. SVIKG is the largest single industrial-finance instrument launched by an EU member state in the post-2022 industrial-policy cycle.

The Canada Infrastructure Bank reached financial close on a CAD 100 million (approx. USD 72 million) loan to Cando Rail & Terminals to fund a new Sturgeon West Terminal, doubling rail-car storage and staging capacity at its existing Sturgeon Terminal hub in Alberta's Industrial Heartland. The expansion adds up to 3,700 new railcar storage/staging spaces, including 1,100 spaces for unit trains with Class 1 railways, and is intended to strengthen trade corridors to the ports of Prince Rupert and Vancouver. CIB projects up to 50 new full-time jobs and CAD 22.3 million in annual regional GDP contribution once operations begin in late 2026.

On 2025-09-10 the Russian government adopted Resolution No. 1396, amending Resolution No. 2240 (2022-12-07), which raised import customs duty rates on selected goods from "unfriendly states." The duty on malt beer (HS 2203) rose from EUR 1.0/litre to EUR 1.5/litre and on cider and similar sparkling/still beverages (HS 2206) from 22.5% to 30% of customs value. The resolution also set new duty rates on automotive semi-trailers (HS 8716) of 35% of customs value for units exceeding 15 tonnes gross weight and at least 13.6 m in length, and 20% for refrigerated semi-trailers with cargo volume of at least 76 m³; Hungary and Slovakia were excluded from the "unfriendly state" designation for these lines. The measure entered into force on 2025-09-20, seven days after official publication, and was set to run through 2025-12-31 (subsequently extended to 2027-12-31 by a later resolution).

KfW IPEX-Bank, the project- and export-finance arm of Germany's state-owned development bank KfW, announced on 5 September 2025 an EUR 84 million (approx. USD 98 million) loan to Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG (SSB) to finance 30 S-DT8.17 series light rail vehicles from Stadler Deutschland GmbH, at roughly EUR 6 million per vehicle. The vehicles are a contractual option exercised under SSB's existing S-DT8.16 tram order (40 vehicles, also KfW IPEX-Bank financed, awarded to Stadler via a prior EU-wide tender) and will replace and expand Stuttgart's tram fleet. Global Trade Alert separately logs the transaction as a "red"-flagged state-loan intervention (state act 94257 / intervention 149064).

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) issued a public procurement tender for construction work in Bangalore on 2 September 2025 that embeds a domestic-supplier local-content requirement under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017. The preference applies to bid evaluation in the general-construction and civil-engineering categories. Global Trade Alert records the intervention as announced and implemented the same day; the specific NIT reference and contract value sit behind GTA's account-gated view and were not independently located on BMRCL's e-tender portal.

Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation Ltd (MRVC) issued a public procurement tender on 29 August 2025 for carshed-expansion works at Kurla and Kalwa that embeds a domestic-supplier local-content requirement under India's Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017. The preference applies to bid evaluation in the general-construction and civil-engineering categories. Global Trade Alert records the intervention as announced and implemented the same day; the specific NIT reference and contract value sit behind GTA's account-gated view and were not independently located on MRVC's e-tender portal.

India's Ministry of Railways, through Northeast Frontier Railway's construction organisation, issued a tender for tunnel construction and associated electrical/mechanical works in Manipur (part of the broader NFR hill-section rail-line project, which includes 14 tunnels totalling roughly 24 km) that 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 site-preparation categories. Global Trade Alert records the intervention as announced/implemented 27 August 2025; the underlying tender reference and contract value sit behind GTA's account-gated view and were not independently confirmed.