Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2663 actions· ✨ 89 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.

On 26 April 2026, the UAE Cabinet, chaired by Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, approved a four-part industrial-resilience package: (i) a National Industrial Resilience Fund with AED 1 billion (~USD 272m) capital managed by Emirates Development Bank over five years covering food industries, manufacturing, primary metals, mechanical/electrical/chemical industries, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, advanced technology, and construction — designed to localise over 5,000 critical products and link confirmed procurement demand with targeted financing for local manufacturers; (ii) structural overhaul of the National In-Country Value (ICV) Programme, transitioning it from incentive-based to MANDATORY across federal entities and companies in which the government holds 25% or more; (iii) a National Product Retail Presence Policy strengthening visibility of UAE-manufactured goods in retail and digital channels (Phase 1: bottled water, dairy, eggs, poultry, bread, flour, vegetable oils, seasonal vegetables); and (iv) a National Industrial Data Committee chaired by Hasan Jassim Al Nowais (Undersecretary, MoIAT), with AI-driven forecasting and risk management integrated into industrial-resilience monitoring.

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.

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.

China's Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, People's Bank of China and National Financial Regulatory Administration jointly issued Cai Jin [2026] No. 5 on 2026-01-19, optimizing the service-sector loan interest-subsidy policy first launched in August 2025 (Cai Jin [2025] No. 81). The notice extends the scheme through 2026-12-31, raises the per-entity eligible new-loan cap for 2026 to RMB 10 million (subsidy period capped at one year, annual subsidy rate of 1 percentage point, funded 90% by central and 10% by provincial finances), and widens covered sectors from the original eight (catering/accommodation, health, eldercare, childcare, domestic services, culture/entertainment, tourism, sports) to add digital, green and retail categories. It also expands the roster of handling banks to a longer list of state and joint-stock commercial banks.

The Philippine Department of Agriculture issued Administrative Circular No. 16, Series of 2025, imposing a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) of PHP 120 per kilogram on imported carrots sold in public and private wet markets within the National Capital Region. The measure took effect 5 December 2025 and was formally circularised 23 December 2025, part of a broader end-2025 MSRP push that also covered pork and onions. It is a domestic price-stabilisation control on an imported staple vegetable rather than a border tariff or quota, but it directly affects the economics of carrot importers and NCR wet-market resellers.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) awarded a AUD 18.07 million grant to energy retailer Flow Power under the "Driving the Nation Program" to build the "Flow Power Highway" — a minimum 10-site, up to 84-charger ultrafast battery-electric-vehicle (BEV) charging network across Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, delivering 29.4 MW of total charging capacity. The AUD 18.07 million grant leverages a AUD 70.23 million total project value, with Flow Power partnering UK charge-point operator GRIDSERVE (via its GIGATONS venture) for hardware, software and analytics. Announced 10 December 2025 alongside two smaller ARENA EV-infrastructure grants (Essential Energy AUD 2.3m for regional NSW chargers; UTS/RACE for 2030 CRC AUD 1.09m for a national vehicle-grid-integration network).

The UK's National Wealth Fund (NWF), the state-owned economic development bank, committed GBP 25 million (USD 32.8 million) of debt financing to Roam, a Denham Capital-backed EV charge-point operator, as part of a GBP 65 million debt-raise announced 12 November 2025 alongside NatWest and Triodos Bank UK. The financing supports Roam's pipeline to deploy 40,000 AC "destination" fast-charging points (workplaces, hotels, residential buildings, retail), up from roughly 3,000 installed at announcement.

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the Bhardwaj Human Smuggling Organization (Bhardwaj HSO), a Cancun, Mexico-based transnational criminal organization run by dual Indian-Mexican national Vikrant Bhardwaj, under Executive Order 13581 (as amended by EO 13863). The action names 21 designees in total — the organization, 4 individuals (including Bhardwaj's wife and a former Cancun airport police officer who provided access), and 16 front companies spanning Mexico, India and the UAE across real estate, construction, retail/hospitality, and tourism/transport sectors used to launder smuggling proceeds. The designation was coordinated with Homeland Security Investigations, the DEA, and Mexico's financial intelligence unit (UIF), and blocks all U.S. property and interests of the designees plus any entity 50%-or-more owned by them.

On October 22, 2025, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company ("Rosneft") and Lukoil OAO ("Lukoil") — together with dozens of named Russia-based subsidiaries — to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List under Executive Order 14024 for "operating or having operated in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy." It is the first US designation of Russia's two largest integrated oil majors since the 2022 invasion-era sanctions architecture began. Under OFAC's 50% Rule, the blocking extends automatically to all entities owned 50% or more, directly or indirectly, by Rosneft or Lukoil — capturing a sprawling global subsidiary network including Lukoil retail/refining assets in Belgium, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, Finland, the West Qurna-2 upstream stake in Iraq, and Lukoil Americas. Rosneft and Lukoil together account for roughly half of Russian crude exports (~5 mb/d combined production) and Lukoil holds a ~9% European retail-fuel market share. OFAC simultaneously issued General License 124 (Caspian Pipeline Consortium / Tengizchevroil / Karachaganak Kazakhstan-pipeline carve-out, no expiry), General License 125 (Lukoil retail service stations outside Russia, wind-down to November 21, 2025), General License 126 (general wind-down to November 21, 2025) and General License 127 (debt/equity divestment and derivatives wind-down to November 21, 2025). GL 131 (issued November 14, 2025) opened a divestment window for Lukoil International GmbH; subsequent GL 134/134A/134B extended cargo-offload authorisations through April–May 2026. The action was coordinated same-day with UK OFSI Rosneft/Lukoil designations and the EU's 19th Russia sanctions package adopted October 23, 2025 — the first major US-led Russia-energy escalation under the second Trump administration.

The Saudi Council of Ministers adopted Resolution No. 269 on 11 October 2025, amending the Precious Metals and Gemstones Law to transfer all supervision, regulation, and licensing of precious-metals and gemstones manufacturing activities from the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) to the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIM). The Ministry of Commerce retains authority over retail trade outlets and consumer-facing commercial activities. A six-month transition window — announced jointly by MoC and MIM on 16 October 2025 — requires all existing manufacturing practitioners to obtain an industrial licence through the "Sanai" platform; mandatory hallmarking, gemstone identification tagging, and consumer-documentation standards also take effect under the revised regulatory framework.

China's Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce jointly issued Cai Jian [2025] No. 342 ("Notice on Developing International Consumption Environment Construction Work") on 2025-09-28, launching a two-year central-fiscal subsidy scheme for roughly 15 pilot cities competitively selected to build "internationalised consumption environments." Designated international consumption center cities receive RMB 200 million each over two years; other selected pilot cities receive RMB 100 million each. Funds are earmarked for accommodation, catering/food service, retail, inbound tourism, duty-free, sports and cultural-tourism venues, targeting improved service quality and product supply for inbound visitors and foreign merchants. Provincial commerce and finance departments were required to submit implementation plans by 2025-10-24.

China's Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce jointly issued Cai Jian [2025] No. 341 ("Notice on Conducting Pilot Work for New Consumption Business Forms, Models, and Scenarios") on 2025-09-28, a sibling scheme to the same-day international consumption environment notice (Cai Jian [2025] No. 342). Roughly 50 prefecture-level-and-above cities will be selected, prioritising large, high-growth metros, for a two-year central-fiscal subsidy covering three focus areas: "first-launch economy" services (debut centres/platforms for new fashion, electronics, cosmetics and automotive product launches), AI/metaverse-enabled service consumption scenarios in culture, tourism, health and sport, and cross-sector IP-branded themed stores and concept spaces. Super-large/mega cities receive RMB 400 million each, large cities RMB 300 million each, and other selected cities RMB 200 million each, disbursed in two batches.

President Trump signed Executive Order 14324, "Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries," on 30 July 2025 (published in the Federal Register on 5 August 2025 as FR doc 2025-14897, 90 FR 37775). The order eliminated the Section 321(a)(2)(C) administrative exemption that had allowed shipments valued at $800 or less to enter the United States duty-free, applying the suspension to all countries of origin rather than the China/Hong Kong-only carve-out imposed earlier in 2025. DHS/CBP published a Notice of Implementation on 2 September 2025 (FR doc 2025-16802) modifying the Harmonized Tariff Schedule so that covered low-value goods must be entered via formal or informal ACE entry types and pay applicable duties; goods shipped through the international postal network were instead made subject to a new flat ad valorem or specific per-item duty rate set by HTSUS annex. The suspension took effect for entries on or after 12:01 a.m. EDT on 29 August 2025. A DHS/CBP rule published 24 June 2026 (FR doc 2026-12670) converted the non-postal suspension from time-limited to indefinite and closed the remaining international-postal-network exemption to formal/ informal entry procedures as well.

Mexico's tax authority (SAT), acting under SHCP, published the Cuarta Resolución de Modificaciones a las Reglas Generales de Comercio Exterior para 2025 in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 28 July 2025, raising the flat tax rate applied under the simplified customs regime for low-value courier and parcel shipments (goods valued at USD 2,500 or less) from 19% to 33.5%, effective 15 August 2025. The increase applies to shipments from countries without a free trade agreement with Mexico — in practice overwhelmingly China-origin goods — and is aimed at cross-border e-commerce platforms (Shein, Temu, AliExpress) as well as triangulated goods routed through courier channels by other importers including large retailers. The measure is framed by SHCP as combating under-invoicing and non-tariff-preference triangulation via the courier de minimis channel.

On 28 July 2025 the General Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government issued Hufubangui [2025] No. 6, the "Shanghai Embodied Intelligence Industry Development Implementation Plan" (上海市具身智能产业发展实施方案), a dedicated municipal state-aid package to build Shanghai into a global innovation hub for embodied intelligence (humanoid robotics / physical AI). The plan targets an industry scale of CNY 500 billion by 2027, alongside at least 20 core algorithm/technology breakthroughs, four or more high-quality incubators, and "100-100-100" targets for leading enterprises, applications and products. Support is disbursed as tiered direct subsidies capped at CNY 50 million (30% of project cost) for core-technology R&D, CNY 40 million per company per year for computing-power credits, CNY 20 million (50% of cost) for public-platform construction, CNY 10 million (20% of cost) for application-demonstration projects, CNY 5 million per company per year for language-corpus services, CNY 5 million (5% of contract value) for robot sales/rental incentives, CNY 5 million per open-source project, and CNY 1 million per leading enterprise for standards development. Target application sectors are logistics, industrial manufacturing, retail, healthcare/eldercare and domestic services.

Brazil's national development bank BNDES approved a BRL 100 million (~USD 18 million) financing package for BRQ Digital Solutions, funded through the BNDES Mais Inovação program, to build 17 technical accelerators for the company's proprietary generative-AI platform "Fusion BRQ." The operation is aligned with Mission 4 (Digital Transformation) of Nova Indústria Brasil, the federal government's industrial policy, and is projected to create roughly 60 new R&D jobs. The AI platform targets accelerated software development across finance, healthcare, energy, insurance, retail, agriculture and telecom client sectors.

Japan's government, acting through the "Comprehensive Countermeasures Headquarters for US Tariff Measures" (established after the April 2025 Trump reciprocal-tariff announcement), decided on 27 May 2025 to draw JPY 388.1 billion from FY2025 budget reserves for tariff-cushioning relief. JPY 288.1 billion reactivates the electricity and city-gas bill subsidy (JPY 2/kWh electricity, JPY 8/m3 city gas) for July-September 2025 usage, cutting an average household's summer utility bill by roughly JPY 3,000. The remaining JPY 100 billion funds increased subsidies to local governments supporting businesses' electricity and LPG costs and expanded funding support to SMEs via government-backed lenders. METI issued special retail-tariff authorizations to electric and city-gas utilities on 25 June 2025 to implement the July-September discount.

China's Unreliable Entity List (UEL) Working Mechanism, led by MOFCOM, issued Announcement [2025] No. 2 on 4 February 2025, designating PVH Group (parent of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger) and Illumina Inc. (US genomics / gene-sequencing equipment maker) as Unreliable Entities under the 2020 UEL Provisions, citing violations of normal market-transaction principles and discriminatory measures against Chinese enterprises. PVH was cited for its Xinjiang-cotton sourcing boycott (MOFCOM probe launched September 2024); Illumina was cited for restricting Chinese customers' access to gene-sequencing equipment. The announcement was issued on the same day as China's IEEPA-retaliation tariff package (10–15 % on US coal, LNG, crude oil, agricultural goods, and autos), making it the first UEL listing of a Western consumer-brand / retail company and the first combining a UEL designation with a subsequent sector-specific export prohibition (gene sequencers, imposed 28 February 2025).

President Claudia Sheinbaum's government published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 19 Dec 2024 a decree amending the General Import & Export Tax Law (TIGIE) and the IMMEX Decree. The decree imposes a 35% temporary import duty on 138 finished-apparel tariff lines (Chapters 61, 62, 63 plus tariff item 9404.40.01) and a 15% duty on 17 textile-input tariff lines (Chapters 52, 55, 58, 60), totalling 155 fractions. Concurrently, 302 tariff fractions in Chapters 61/62/63 are removed from IMMEX duty-deferral eligibility (moved out of Annex II Section C into Annex I). The measure exempts countries with which Mexico has an FTA (notably USMCA partners) and is in force from 20 Dec 2024 until 23 Apr 2026.

Regulation (EU) 2025/40, published in the Official Journal on 22 January 2025 and entering into force on 11 February 2025, replaces the 1994 Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 94/62/EC with a directly-applicable Regulation. It mandates binding recycled-content targets for plastic packaging (by polymer and format, reaching 30–65% by 2030 with higher targets by 2040), minimum reusable-packaging shares for beverages and transport, recyclability standards for all packaging placed on the EU market from 2030, deposit-return-scheme obligations for beverage containers from 2029, and bans on specified single-use plastic packaging formats. General application begins 12 August 2026, with staggered compliance windows extending to 2030 and beyond, affecting all non-EU exporters shipping consumer goods, beverages, or e-commerce fulfilment into the EU single market.

Vietnam's 15th National Assembly passed Law 44/2024/QH15 on 21 November 2024, comprehensively amending the 2016 Law on Pharmacy. The law liberalises foreign-invested enterprise (FIE) rights — permitting FIEs to wholesale self-imported drugs and APIs and to operate pharmacy chains for the first time — while introducing a special investment-incentive tier for pharma projects capitalised at ≥ VND 3,000 billion (≈ USD 120m) with ≥ VND 1,000 billion disbursed within three years. Online retail of non-prescription drugs is formally legalised as a distinct regulated business activity. Most provisions take effect 1 July 2025; selected marketing-authorisation renewal procedures took effect 1 January 2025. Implementing Decree 163/2025/ND-CP, effective 1 July 2025, provides detailed operational guidance.

Bahrain's Ministry of Industry and Commerce issued Decision No. 53 of 2024, amending the conditions governing foreign ownership in commercial activities, effective 18 October 2024. The reform permits 100% foreign ownership of commercial enterprises — including wholesale and retail trade and authorized distribution — without a mandatory Bahraini local partner, where the foreign company operates in at least 10 countries or generates annual revenue above EUR 750 million. It simultaneously reduces the minimum capital requirement for foreign-owned companies in Bahrain by 95%, from BHD 2,000,000 (~EUR 5m) to BHD 100,000 (~EUR 240,000), materially expanding the addressable foreign-investor pool to mid-market commercial enterprises.

India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, issued Notification No. 20/2023 on 20 July 2023 amending the export policy of non-basmati white rice (semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed; HS 1006 30 90) from "Free" to "Prohibited" with immediate effect. The stated objective was to stabilise domestic prices and ensure adequate availability after uneven monsoon onset and rising retail rice inflation. Limited carve-outs applied for cargo already loaded prior to the notification and for government-to-government supplies authorised on food-security grounds. The blanket ban was lifted by DGFT Notification 31/2024 on 28 September 2024, replaced first by a USD 490/tonne minimum export price (MEP) and then by free export after the MEP was withdrawn in late October 2024.

Loi n° 2023-973 du 23 octobre 2023 relative à l'industrie verte (the Green Industry Law) is France's first comprehensive industrial-policy framework since France 2030 (2021). Published in the Journal officiel on 24 October 2023, it pursues three objectives: (i) accelerate the siting of strategic industrial projects on French territory, (ii) channel public procurement toward "virtuous" companies, and (iii) mobilise private savings for green-industrial CapEx. Its centrepiece is the new "Projet d'intérêt national majeur" (PINM) status, an exceptional procedure that fast-tracks urban planning, environmental permitting, and grid connection for projects deemed strategic for ecological transition or national sovereignty (gigafactories, hydrogen electrolysers, advanced semiconductor fabs). The law also creates the Plan d'épargne avenir climat (PEAC), a long-duration retail savings product reserved for under-21s and earmarked for European green-industrial financing, and codifies a 2023-2030 national green-industry strategy.