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

USTR formally initiated the second statutorily mandated four-year review of its Section 301 investigation into China's acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation (Federal Register 2026-08806, published May 6, 2026). The review covers tariff actions imposed on approximately $300 billion of Chinese goods across Lists 1–4B (25% on most lists; 7.5% on List 4A) and will determine whether those actions should be continued, modified, or terminated. Interested parties may file continuation requests in two 60-day windows: May 7–July 5, 2026 (for the July 6, 2018 action) and June 24– August 22, 2026 (for the August 23, 2018 action). DISTINCT from the March 2026 Section 301 excess-capacity investigations (which target 16 economies on overcapacity sectors) and from the June 2026 Section 301 forced-labor enforcement action (60 economies); this review is China-specific, IP/TT-focused, and mandated by the original Biden-era statutory clock under Section 304(c) of the Trade Act of 1974.

The US Department of Commerce published its final affirmative determination of sales at less-than-fair-value in the antidumping investigation of animal feed-grade L-lysine (lysine) from China (case A-570-215) on 23 July 2026, following a preliminary determination published 6 March 2026 (91 FR 11030). Commerce found a China-wide weighted-average dumping margin of 139.83% (cash deposit rate 139.65% after subsidy-offset adjustment), based on adverse facts available after Commerce found Zhengzhou Longgu Trading Co., the sole company with a calculated margin, and the Eppen Group group of producers/exporters uncooperative and ineligible for a separate rate in the final determination. A group of separate-rate companies — including Anhui BBCA Biochemical, Heilongjiang Wanlirunda Biotechnology, and others exporting through trading intermediaries such as Agromate Sg, Ainore (Tianjin), and Aollen Biotech — received a 73.55% dumping margin (73.37% cash deposit rate). The order covers lysine regardless of form (HCl, sulfate, liquid) under HTSUS 2922.41.0090 and related subheadings. A companion countervailing-duty investigation (preliminary 22 January 2026, 91 FR 2745) was finalized the same day; suspension of liquidation runs from 6 March 2026, with a final AD order contingent on an ITC injury determination due within 45 days of the final LTFV finding.

Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber executive committee (GECEX) issued Resolution No. 852, dated 4 February 2026 and published in the Diário Oficial da União on 5 February 2026, amending Annex VI of Resolução Gecex nº 272/2021 — the instrument that adapted Brazil's Common Mercosur Nomenclature (NCM) and Common External Tariff (TEC) to the 2022 Harmonized System revision. The measure realigns applied tariffs on roughly 1,249 NCM codes under the IT/telecom (LEBIT) and capital-goods (BK) special-tariff exception lists, per secondary reporting raising codes currently taxed below a 7.2% floor up to that rate, with other affected lines moving to higher bracket rates (reported figures include 12.6%, 20%, and other tiers depending on product). Aeronautical-sector products are explicitly excluded from the recomposition (Art. 2). Global Trade Alert classifies the measure as a "Red" (trade-restrictive) import tariff intervention.

The US Department of Commerce published its final affirmative countervailing-duty (CVD) determination on animal feed-grade L-lysine from China (case C-570-216) on 23 July 2026, the companion subsidy proceeding to the parallel antidumping case (A-570-215) finalized the same day. Commerce found Heilongjiang Wanlirunda Biotechnology Co., Ltd. and Shouguang Golden-land Industry & Trading Co., Ltd. received countervailable subsidies at 82.11%, while Inner Mongolia Eppen Biotech Co., Ltd. and all other Chinese producers/exporters were assigned a 48.21% subsidy rate. The preliminary CVD determination, published 22 January 2026, set the initial cash-deposit rates and suspension of liquidation; the final determination confirmed and aligned the case with the AD final determination for a joint ITC injury vote.

On 5 February 2026, USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer and Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno signed in Washington the United States-Argentina Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and Investment (ARTI), formalising the framework jointly announced on 13 November 2025. The agreement is the first standalone bilateral trade-and-investment instrument concluded by the second Trump administration and the first FTA-style agreement signed under the post-IEEPA reciprocal-tariff architecture (Executive Order 14257, "Liberation Day"). On the US side, the ARTI sets out three tariff schedules: (i) Schedule 2A suspends additional reciprocal tariffs under EO 14257 for specified Argentine-origin goods (covering "unavailable natural resources" and non-patented pharmaceutical inputs); (ii) Schedule 2B grants a zero additional reciprocal tariff for designated Argentine agricultural products under EO 14360; and (iii) caps additional ad-valorem duties on other goods at 10% above MFN rates, inclusive of IEEPA reciprocal tariffs. On the Argentine side, illustrative tariff-rate quotas include duty-free access for 80,000 MT of US beef in calendar year 2026, 1,000 MT for cheese, 870 MT for almonds, 40 MT in-shell + 40 MT shelled for pistachios, 80,000 litres for wine (<2 L bottles), and preferential treatment for 10,000 motor vehicles meeting defined technical parameters. Argentina additionally commits to broader preferential market access on medicines, chemicals, machinery, information-technology products, medical devices, and a wide range of agricultural goods, alongside IP-enforcement upgrades (counterfeit/pirated-goods enforcement, patentability criteria, patent-backlog reduction, geographical indications) and investment-facilitation commitments that align Argentina's regime with US-preferred standards on regulatory cooperation, labour and environment.

Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber executive committee (GECEX) issued Resolution No. 794 on 25 September 2025, published in the Diário Oficial da União on 26 September 2025, revoking Ex-Tarifário duty exemptions on six specific tariff-line items spanning three prior ex-tarifário annexes: one Information Technology/Telecommunications line (NCM 9032.89.82, Ex 043, under Resolução Gecex 323/2022), and five Capital Goods lines covering mining-boring machinery (NCM 8430.41.20, Ex 015/025/050, under Resolução Gecex 311/2022), machine-tools for stone/ceramics working (NCM 8464.10.00, Ex 059), industrial washing/cleaning machinery parts (NCM 8450.90.10, Ex 029/032/033) and refrigeration-equipment parts (NCM 8418.99.00, Ex 048) (all under Resolução Gecex 322/2022). The affected lines revert from the reduced Ex-Tarifário rate (typically 0%) to Brazil's standard Mercosur Common External Tariff (TEC) rate, effective 60 days after publication (25 November 2025) — the date Global Trade Alert records as implementation.

Published in the Boletín Oficial on 29 July 2025 and effective the following day, Decreto 513/2025 replaces Annexes I, II, and III of Decreto 557/2023, which govern Argentina's exceptions to the MERCOSUR Common External Tariff (AEC). The decree cuts the extrazone import duty on 27 capital-goods tariff lines — machinery, tools, and industrial equipment previously taxed at 20-35% — to a uniform 12.6%, aiming to lower input costs for domestic manufacturers and encourage technology adoption. Two NCM positions (2934.99.22 and 8450.20.20, covering certain chemical inputs and washing machines) receive a 60-day transitional carve-out preserving the prior tariff treatment for goods already in transit or in customs primary zones at the decree's effective date.

Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber executive committee (GECEX) issued Resolution No. 746, dated 3 July 2025 and published in the Diário Oficial da União on 4 July 2025, amending Annex I of Resolução Gecex nº 323/2022 — the Ex-Tarifário regime for information-technology and telecommunications-goods tariff lines. The amendment excludes a set of existing duty-free Ex-Tarifário codes from the annex (reverting those lines to the standard MFN import duty) while including new codes granting temporary duty relief (typically to 0%) on lines with no equivalent domestic production; Global Trade Alert's tracking of the underlying state act counts 27 IT/telecom product lines affected in total, split between roughly 22 new/renewed duty-free grants (revoking 31 December 2025 absent renewal) and 5 exclusions reverting to standard duty. The amendment took effect 11 July 2025, seven days after publication. GTA classifies the measure "Red" (trade- restrictive/discriminatory), consistent with its treatment of GECEX's narrow, discretionary Ex-Tarifário product-line grants as favouring specific importers rather than liberalising trade economy- wide.

Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber executive committee (GECEX) issued Resolution No. 748, signed 3 July 2025 and published in the Diário Oficial da União on 4 July 2025, revoking Ex-Tarifário (temporary import-duty exemption) status for 7 tariff-line codes previously granted duty-free treatment under the regime: 5 capital-goods lines, 1 information-technology/telecommunications line, and 1 automotive product classified as capital goods. The affected lines revert from 0% Ex-Tarifário rates to their standard MFN import duty. The change took effect 4 August 2025, one month after publication. Global Trade Alert flags Canada, China and Czechia among the trading partners most exposed by historical trade volume in the affected computing-machinery lines and classifies the measure "Red" (trade-restrictive).

Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber executive committee (GECEX) issued Resolution No. 730, signed 20 May 2025 and published in the Diário Oficial da União on 21 May 2025, removing 125 tariff-line codes from Ex-Tarifário (temporary import-duty exemption) coverage: 104 capital goods lines, 18 information-technology/telecommunications lines, and 3 automotive products classified as capital goods. The affected lines revert from preferential Ex-Tarifário rates to their standard MFN import duty, effective 20 July 2025, two months after publication. Global Trade Alert classifies the measure "Red" (trade-restrictive) and flags Austria, Belgium and Bulgaria among the trading partners most exposed by historical trade volume in the affected computing- machinery, special-purpose machinery and electric-motor lines.

Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber executive committee (GECEX) issued Resolution No. 727, signed 20 May 2025, amending Annex I of Resolution No. 323 (4 April 2022) to modify import duties on 21 information- technology and telecommunications tariff lines. Twenty of the lines have their import duty temporarily eliminated (reduced to zero) and one line has its duty increased, effective 28 May 2025. The duty elimination on the 20 lines is temporary, with a stated revocation (reversion) date of 31 December 2025. Global Trade Alert classifies the measure "Red" and flags China, Germany and Indonesia among the trading partners most exposed by historical trade volume in the affected lines.

Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber executive committee (GECEX) issued Resolution No. 732, dated 20 May 2025 and published in the Diário Oficial da União on 21 May 2025, amending Annexes II and VI of Resolução Gecex nº 272/2021 — the instrument that adapted Brazil's Common Mercosur Nomenclature (NCM) and Common External Tariff (TEC) to the 2022 Harmonized System revision. The amendment recomposes the TEC toward its full bound level for products on the IT/telecom (LEBIT) and capital-goods (BK) special-tariff exception lists, while carving out roughly 925 NCM codes across some 585 six-digit HS subheadings from the recomposition; secondary reporting describes the net effect as duty cuts on select data-processing and telephone equipment paired with duty increases across the broader excepted product set. Global Trade Alert classifies the measure as a "Red" (trade-restrictive) import-tariff intervention.

China's State Council Tariff Commission published its annual "2023 Tariff Adjustment Plan" (税委会公告2022年第11号) on 28 December 2022, effective 1 January 2023. Alongside routine import-side changes (provisional-rate cancellations reverting some goods to MFN rates, and an eighth-step MFN cut on 62 information-technology products from 1 July 2023), the plan raises export tariffs on aluminum and aluminum alloy to support "transformation, upgrading and high-quality development" of the domestic industry. Global Trade Alert logs this export-tax increase as the "certainly harmful" intervention within the bundled state act; a separate import-tariff cut is logged as liberalising.

The Tariff Act of 1930 (Pub. L. 71-361, 46 Stat. 590, codified principally at 19 U.S.C. Chapter 4) is the foundational US statute governing customs revenue, tariff classification, and trade-remedy administration, signed by President Hoover on 17 June 1930. The Act's original Smoot-Hawley tariff schedules are widely cited as a contributing factor to the contraction of global trade during the Great Depression, but the statute's enduring significance lies in its creation of (i) the Title VII antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) proceedings framework administered jointly by Commerce ITA and the USITC — the parent authority for every US AD/CVD order in force today — and (ii) Section 337 (19 U.S.C. §1337), the USITC unfair-import and IP-exclusion-order regime under which ~50+ active investigations are conducted annually against semiconductor, biotech, electronics, and other technology imports. Title I's customs-valuation and HTSUS tariff- classification framework underpins all US import-revenue collection; Title VII AD/CVD authority was updated by the GATT Tokyo Round Trade Agreements Act of 1979 and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act of 1994 (URAA) to align with WTO Antidumping and Subsidies Agreements.