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

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.

On 31 December 2025, China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs jointly published Announcement No. 91 of 2025, releasing the 2026 edition of the Catalogue of Dual-Use Items and Technologies Subject to Import and Export Licence Administration, effective 1 January 2026. The update replaces the 2025 catalogue and is issued under the Export Control Law of the PRC and the Regulations on Export Control of Dual-Use Items. Key additions to the export-licensing perimeter include samarium, gadolinium, and lutetium compounds — mid-to-heavy rare earths critical for permanent magnets (EV motors, wind turbines), phosphors (medical imaging, displays), and defence applications — requiring MOFCOM export licences for all covered shipments from 1 January 2026.

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.

The Government of Maharashtra, Industries Department, notified the Maharashtra Industry, Investment, and Services Policy-2025 on 31 December 2025, valid for five years and superseding the prior Maharashtra Industrial Policy 2019. The umbrella state-level instrument supports Maharashtra's "trillion-dollar economy by 2030" and "Developed Maharashtra 2047" vision with targets of ₹70.5 lakh crore (~USD 850 bn) cumulative investment, 50 lakh (5 million) jobs across manufacturing and services, and expansion of industry's share of Gross State Value Added to 30%. It is Maharashtra's first-ever combined industry + services + investment-promotion framework (prior policies were industry-only), establishes the unified "Invest Maharashtra" platform and revamped MAITRI 2.0 portal (125+ services, AI investor support, blockchain document verification), and empowers a Cabinet Sub-Committee under the Chief Minister to sanction bespoke customised-package incentives for Mega and Ultra-Mega Projects above the ₹500 crore threshold.

On 31 December 2025 the Mexican Presidency published a decree amending the 2023 basic-basket import-tariff exemption, removing at least eight staple-food categories — fresh/refrigerated/frozen beef and pork, milk and cream, dry beans, rice, soybean/sunflower/safflower/cotton oils, tilapia fillets (HS 0304.61.01) and sausages (HS 1601.00.03) — from the duty-free list effective 1 January 2026. The decree frames the move as reinforcing Plan México's food self-sufficiency goals (Plan de Autosuficiencia en Frijol, a 2030 domestic-dairy production target) by disincentivizing imports of products with growing domestic production capacity. Transition relief lets basic-basket importers with contracts signed before 31 December 2025 keep the exemption through 31 March 2026, and other registered importers through 31 March 2027, subject to SAT contract filing deadlines.

On 31 December 2025 Mexico's Secretaría de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural (SADER) published the Acuerdo setting the Reglas de Operación (operating rules) of the "Fertilizantes para el Bienestar" programme for fiscal year 2026 in the Diario Oficial de la Federación. The programme's budget rises to MXN 18.2 billion for 2026, up from MXN 17.5 billion in 2025 (+4%), and continues direct in-kind fertilizer distribution to small-scale producers of priority staple crops (corn, beans, rice) prioritizing women, Indigenous communities, and producers in the country's most marginalized rural municipalities. Global Trade Alert classifies the programme as carrying both a production-subsidy and a local-content-requirement component, effective 1 January through 31 December 2026.

On 31 December 2025, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) issued Decision No. 93483 raising the mandatory Saudization (localization) quota for engineering professions in the private and non-profit sectors from 25% to 30%, alongside a minimum-wage floor increase from SAR 7,000 to SAR 8,000 for qualifying Saudi hires. The decision covers 46 designated engineering professions (architect, power generation engineer, industrial engineer, electronics engineer, vehicle engineer, marine engineer, health engineer, and others) at establishments employing five or more workers in those roles, and requires professional accreditation from the Saudi Council of Engineers. Implementation began six months after issuance, on 30 June 2026, to give employers a compliance runway.

Türkiye imposed a provisional WTO safeguard measure on imports of PET resin (polyethylene terephthalate, viscosity ≥78 ml/g, GTİP 3907.61.00.00.00) via Presidential Decision No. 10806, published in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 5. Mükerrer) alongside the implementing "İthalatta Korunma Önlemlerine İlişkin Tebliğ" (Tebliğ No. 2026/1). The measure levies an additional financial obligation of USD 100 per tonne, applied erga omnes for up to 200 days while the Ministry's full safeguard investigation continues. A tariff-quota carve-out exempts eligible developing-country origins meeting the WTO Safeguards Agreement Article 9 de-minimis threshold (individually ≤3% of 2024 imports, collectively ≤9%): roughly 3,693 tonnes per country and 11,079 tonnes in aggregate are admitted duty-free before the $100/tonne obligation applies to the remainder. Leading 2024 PET resin suppliers to Türkiye include China, South Korea and Italy.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection published a final notice in Customs Bulletin and Decisions, Vol. 59, No. 49 (31 December 2025), modifying two New York ruling letters (NY N328585 and NY N326486, both dated 2022) that had classified certain decorative storage baskets ("Basket-MD" and "Basket-3PC" style products) under HTSUS heading 5609 (cotton cordage/twine articles) and 9403.89.6015 (household furniture of other materials), both duty-free. Per Headquarters Ruling Letter H342184, CBP reclassifies the goods to subheading 6307.90.98 ("other made up textile articles"), which carries a 7% general (MFN) duty rate. No comments were received on the September 2025 proposed notice. The change takes effect 60 days after publication, i.e. 1 March 2026, and also revokes/modifies any other unidentified ruling covering the same merchandise.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection published a final notice in Customs Bulletin and Decisions, Vol. 59, No. 49 (31 December 2025), revoking two New York ruling letters (NY N019900, dated 2007, and NY N159975, dated 2011) that had classified certain submersible remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) — used in offshore oil and gas, military, and underwater construction operations — under HTSUS heading 8906.90.0090 ("other vessels"), which is duty-free. Per Headquarters Ruling Letter H272339, CBP determined the ROVs lack the essential characteristics of "vessels" (they do not float, have tether-limited navigability, and are not designed to transport persons or goods) and reclassifies them under subheading 8479.89.95 ("other machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions"), which carries a 2.5% general (MFN) duty rate. No comments were received on the September 2025 proposed notice. The change takes effect 60 days after publication, i.e. 1 March 2026, and also revokes/modifies any other unidentified ruling covering the same merchandise.

Decree 353/2025/NĐ-CP is the principal implementing instrument of Vietnam's Law on Digital Technology Industry (Law No. 71/2025/QH15), effective 1 January 2026 — the same date as the parent statute. The decree's five chapters and 36 articles operationalise three pillars: (i) a comprehensive State-support and preferential-incentive framework for products, services, and infrastructure across the semiconductor, AI, cloud, fintech, and e-commerce sectors; (ii) a high-quality-human-resources development framework covering training funds, scholarship schemes, and foreign-expert visa fast-tracks; and (iii) Vietnam's first statutory innovation sandbox, allowing organisations to deploy new digital products and business models under time- and scope-limited regulatory carve-outs where current law has not kept pace with practice.

Cumhurbaşkanı Kararı No. 10790 (Resmi Gazete 31 December 2025, issue 33124 3rd reprint), in force 1 January 2026, restructures Türkiye's annual import-tariff architecture across 4,344 product lines from non-EU origins. The decree (i) introduces or expands additional customs duty (Ek Mali Yükümlülük / İlave Gümrük Vergisi) of 5%–48% on non-EU imports of iron and non-alloy steel, copper, aluminium, and base-metal household goods; (ii) introduces forward-looking import-surveillance measures across 172 products under 36 notifications, with reference-price floors that cap effective duty relief on under-valued shipments; (iii) updates duties on 324 Customs Tariff Statistical Positions across 21 chapters (219 HS lines raised by 2.4–15 percentage points; 8 lines under HS 7225/7228/8528/8529 raised by 3–14 points; 2 lines reduced by 6 points); (iv) opens duty-free tariff quotas for 35 industrial-product categories — including 27 battery / lithium-cell HS codes through 1 February 2027, 8m m² of plastic-treated textiles through 31 December 2026, and 40,725 tons of organic chemicals and aluminium sheets (16 February–31 December 2026); and (v) imposes a permit regime (6-month validity) on used and refurbished goods. EU and EU-Customs-Union origins remain exempt under A.TR preferential rules; the structural asymmetry vs non-EU partners is the core mechanism. Stated rationale (Ministry of Trade): support domestic production, prevent unfair competition, increase employment, reduce the current-account deficit.

FinCEN issued a final rule delaying by two years the effective date of the August 28, 2024 Investment Adviser AML Rule (89 FR 72156) — which would have required SEC-registered investment advisers (RIAs) and Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) to implement AML/CFT programs and file SARs under the Bank Secrecy Act. The compliance deadline moves from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2028. Treasury cited the need for additional time to review and re-tailor the rule to the diverse business models and risk profiles of the investment adviser sector, and to coordinate with related rulemakings. The final rule follows the September 22, 2025 NPRM and the August 5, 2025 exemptive relief order that had already paused enforcement.

Presidential Decree No. 1011 of 31 December 2025 amends the standing Decree No. 302 (25 April 2023) list of foreign-owned assets under "temporary management," adding 100 percent of the shares in Rockwool LLC and 68 percent of the shares in Rockwool-Volga LLC — the Russian operating subsidiaries of Danish insulation producer ROCKWOOL A/S — and transferring control to Construction Assets Development JSC (Развитие Строительных Активов, "RSA"), a newly formed Russian administrator. The decree entered into force on its date of official publication (13 January 2026) despite being signed two weeks earlier, and covers four ROCKWOOL factories (Moscow, Leningrad and Chelyabinsk regions, and Tatarstan) producing heat and sound insulation. ROCKWOOL A/S disclosed in a 13 January 2026 regulatory announcement to Nasdaq Copenhagen that it has determined it has lost control of the four plants.

Presidential Decree No. 1012 of 31 December 2025 amends the standing Decree No. 302 (25 April 2023) list of foreign-owned assets under "temporary management," adding 100 percent of the shares in Can-Pak LLC (owned by Poland's Canpack S.A.) and Can-Pak Packaging Plant LLC (owned by Tapon France) — the two Russian operating subsidiaries of the CANPACK Group's aluminium-beverage-can business — and transferring control to StalElement LLC, a newly formed Russian administrator. The decree entered into force on its date of official publication (13 January 2026) despite being signed two weeks earlier, and covers Can-Pak's Volokolamsk (Moscow region) and Novocherkassk plants, which together hold an estimated 25-35% share of Russia's aluminium-can market. It is one of a running series of company-specific amendments to Decree 302, Russia's mechanism for placing Russian assets of "unfriendly state" companies under state administration in reciprocal response to Western sanctions and asset freezes.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/1 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4. Mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026. It imposes a reference-price-triggered import surveillance regime on photosensitive magnesium printing plates (GTİP 3701.30.00.00.21, USD 40/kg floor) and on kraft paper and kraft paperboard across several GTİP lines (4804.11.xx and 4804.21.xx, USD 0.7/kg and USD 1/kg floors respectively). Imports declared below these unit customs values require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") from the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance, valid six months.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/10 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 days later on 30 January 2026. It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on filtering and purifying machinery and filters for liquids and gases: water filtration/purification machinery (GTİP 8421.21.00.00.00), oil and fuel filters for internal combustion engines (8421.23.00.00.00), and air-intake and other filtration equipment (8421.31.00.90.00, 8421.39.25.90.00). All four lines require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") when the unit customs (CIF) value is below USD 10/kg, issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert lists Austria, Belgium, and Bosnia & Herzegovina among the principally affected exporting countries.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/11 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 days later on 30 January 2026. It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on fire extinguishers: imports priced at or below a reference unit customs value require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert logs the measure as a discrete "certainly harmful" import-licensing intervention (MAST Chapter E: non-automatic licensing) covering inward flows from all origins, with China, France and Germany named among the affected exporting countries; the exact GTİP line and USD/unit threshold are not publicly disclosed.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/12 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 days later on 30 January 2026. It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on escalators and moving walkways: imports priced at or above a Ministry-set reference unit customs value require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance — the inverse-direction (price-ceiling) variant of the reference-price template used elsewhere in the same package. Global Trade Alert logs the measure as a discrete "certainly harmful" import-licensing intervention (MAST Chapter E: non-automatic licensing) covering inward flows from all origins, naming China among the affected exporting countries alongside Australia and Austria; the exact GTİP line and USD/unit threshold are not publicly disclosed.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/13 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 days later on 30 January 2026. It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on television dish (satellite) antennas: imports priced at or below a Ministry-set reference unit customs value require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert logs the measure as a discrete "certainly harmful" import-licensing intervention (MAST Chapter E: non-automatic licensing), naming China, Czechia and France among the affected exporting countries; the exact GTİP line and USD/unit threshold are not publicly disclosed.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/14 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on motor vehicle safety seat belts under GTİP 8708.21.90.00.00. Whenever the declared unit customs value falls below the Ministry-set reference floor of USD 12/kg (gross weight), import is only permitted with a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General, which customs requires at declaration registration. Global Trade Alert lists China, Czechia and Estonia as the principally affected exporting countries.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/15 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on motor vehicle safety glass — windscreens, rear windows and other automotive safety glazing under GTİP 8708.22. Whenever the declared unit customs value falls below the Ministry-set reference floor of USD 6.5/kg (gross weight), import is only permitted with a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General, which customs requires at declaration registration. Global Trade Alert lists Belgium, China and Czechia as the principally affected exporting countries.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/16 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on table tennis tables (GTİP 9506.40): imports declared below a Ministry-set reference unit value require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General via the Gümrükler Tek Pencere Sistemi before customs will register the declaration. Global Trade Alert lists China as the principally affected exporting country and rates the intervention "certainly harmful."

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/17 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 days later on 30 January 2026. It imposed a forward-looking import surveillance regime on wheeled agricultural tractors and wheeled forestry tractors (GTİP 8703.21.10.90.19), with five power-based classifications each carrying its own unit customs-value reference price ranging from USD 5,078 to USD 44,890 per unit; imports declared below the applicable threshold require a gözetim belgesi (surveillance certificate) issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert logs China, Czechia and Germany as principally affected. A subsequent amendment (Tebliğ, Official Gazette 17 April 2026, Sayı 33219) removed wheeled agricultural/forestry tractors from the surveillance table entirely and replaced them with ATVs, effective 17 May 2026 — ending the tractor measure after roughly 3.5 months in force.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/18 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 days later on 30 January 2026. It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on air conditioning machines and split-system units: other air-conditioning units (GTİP 8415.10.90.00.19) below a unit customs value of USD 250/unit, other parts (GTİP 8415.90.00.90.09) below USD 150/unit, and split-system indoor units (GTİP 8415.90.00.90.12) below USD 100/unit require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert lists China as the principally affected exporting country.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/19 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) prismatic accumulators under GTİP 8507.60.00.00.22 (4.9V–400V) and 8507.60.00.00.23 (>400V) whenever the declared unit customs value falls below a reference floor of USD 12/kg and USD 15/kg (gross weight) respectively. Below those thresholds, import is only permitted with a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General (İthalat Genel Müdürlüğü), which the customs authority requires at declaration registration. Certificates are valid six months.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/2 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on chlorinated paraffins (GTİP 3824.99.92.00.34). Imports declared at or below a unit customs value of USD 2.5/kg gross weight require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. The measure is de jure origin-neutral; Global Trade Alert's trading-partner data for this intervention was not accessible without a paid account, so no specific target countries are asserted here.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/20 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on load cells (GTİP 9031.80.80.90.11, reference price USD 20,000/tonne) and other measuring/checking instruments (GTİP 9031.80.80.90.19, reference price USD 7,000/tonne) whenever the declared customs value falls below those thresholds. Below the floor, import is only permitted with a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General, required by customs at declaration registration and valid for six months.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/3 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 days later on 30 January 2026. It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on vacuum storage bags: imports priced below a reference unit customs value require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert logs the measure as a "certainly harmful" intervention but does not publicly disclose the exact GTİP line or USD/unit threshold; no single exporting country is named in the primary text.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/4 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on marble, travertine, alabaster and other worked building/monumental stone (GTİP 6802.21 and 6802.91.00.00.19). Imports declared at or below a unit customs value of USD 700/tonne require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert lists China, Greece and Iran as the principally affected exporting countries.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/5 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on woven wire cloth and netting of iron or steel welded at the intersections (GTİP 7314.31.00.00.00 and 7314.39.00.00.00). Imports declared at or below a unit customs value of USD 3.5/kg require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert lists China as the affected jurisdiction.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/6 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on vehicle suspension leaf springs (HS 7320 — springs and leaves for springs, of iron or steel; specifically heading 7320.10). Whenever the declared unit customs value falls below a Ministry-set reference price floor, import is only permitted with a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General, referenced at customs declaration. Global Trade Alert lists Belgium, China and Germany as the principally affected exporting countries.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/7 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on razors with non-replaceable blades (GTİP 8212.10.10.00.00), razor blades (8212.20.00.10.00) and razor blade blanks (8212.20.00.20.00). Imports declared at or below a unit customs value of USD 20/kg gross weight require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert lists Belgium, China and Czechia as affected jurisdictions, in alphabetical rather than ranked order.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/8 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on staples of iron or steel (GTİP 8305.20.00.21.00 — strip staples of the type used in office, upholstery and packaging staplers). Imports declared at or below a unit customs value of USD 1.70/kg gross weight require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert lists China as the principally affected exporting country.

Türkiye's Ministry of Trade published Tebliğ No. 2026/9 ("İthalatta Gözetim Uygulanmasına İlişkin Tebliğ") in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (Sayı 33124, 4th mükerrer), entering into force 30 January 2026 (30 days after publication). It imposes a forward-looking import surveillance regime on piston-type air compressors incorporating an air tank (GTİP 8414.80.22.90.11). Imports declared at or below a unit customs value of USD 90/unit require a surveillance certificate ("gözetim belgesi") issued electronically by the Ministry's Import Directorate General before customs clearance. Global Trade Alert logs the measure as a discrete "certainly harmful" import-licensing intervention; its public affected-country list (Austria, Belgium, Brazil, …) is alphabetical rather than an exporter ranking, and the underlying Tebliğ is origin-neutral on its face.

On 30 December 2025, the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (RKIK), an agency under the Ministry of Defence, signed framework agreements with four companies to build production facilities at the Ermistu Defence Industrial Park in Pärnumaa county. The state commits more than €50 million in core site infrastructure (access roads, electricity grid connections, water/wastewater, perimeter security); the four selected companies are expected to match that with comparable private investment in their own production buildings. Commercial production at all four facilities is scheduled to begin in 2027, establishing Estonia's first domestically-produced ammunition, explosive-charge, short-range air-defence missile, and plastic-explosives capacity in nearly a century.

Council Regulation (EU) 2025/2605, adopted 12 December 2025 and published in the Official Journal on 30 December 2025, replaces the Annex to Regulation (EU) 2021/2278, the EU's biennial autonomous Common Customs Tariff (CCT) suspension list for products "not produced in the Union in sufficient quantity." The update adds new full and partial duty suspensions (down to 0%) for battery-production chemical inputs — including lithium metal, lithium hydroxide monohydrate and lithium carbonate, several rare-earth and yttrium/scandium compounds, cobalt oxalate, and lithium hexafluorophosphate (electrolyte salt, rated at 2.7% rather than 0%) — with a mandatory review clause for the battery-related lines by 31 December 2026. It also renews review dates for existing suspensions and removes entries no longer judged to be in the Union's economic interest. The regulation entered into force on publication but applies from 1 January 2026.

The European Investment Bank signed a EUR 100 million guarantee agreement with UniCredit Banka Slovenija dd on 30 December 2025 under the EIB's Growth for Mid-Caps (G4M) guarantee scheme, which runs until end-2028. The guarantee backs UniCredit Banka Slovenija's balance sheet so it can extend more favourable-rate loans to Slovenian mid-cap companies for growth, climate-action and environmental-sustainability projects. The transaction was disclosed publicly in the EIB's March 2026 recap of its 2025 Slovenia financing activity, which totalled EUR 366 million across transport, SME/mid-cap and technology financing.

India's Ministry of Defence signed contracts worth Rs 2,770 crore (~USD 315 million) on 30 December 2025 for 425,000 Close Quarter Battle (CQB) carbines with accessories for the Indian Army and Navy, carrying a domestic-manufacturing/localisation requirement. Bharat Forge Ltd was awarded ~60% of the order (~255,000 units, ~Rs 1,662 crore) for an indigenous DRDO-ARDE-designed 5.56x45mm carbine; PLR Systems Pvt Ltd (an Israel Weapon Industries-India Adani joint venture) was awarded ~40% (~170,000 units, ~Rs 1,108 crore) to produce the Israeli-origin IWI ACE 21N carbine at its Kanpur and Gwalior facilities in India. Deliveries run from September 2026 through 2028.

The Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) issued Notification No. 02/2025-Customs (SG) dated 30 December 2025, imposing a definitive three-year safeguard duty on imports of "Non-Alloy and Alloy Steel Flat Products" classified under Customs Tariff headings 7208, 7209, 7210, 7211, 7212, 7225 and 7226 (hot-rolled coils/sheets/plates, hot-rolled plate-mill plates, cold-rolled coils/sheets, metallic coated sheets including galvanneal and aluminium-zinc coated, and colour-coated coils/sheets). Duty rates are graduated: 12% ad valorem for 21 April 2025 – 20 April 2026, 11.5% for 21 April 2026 – 20 April 2027, and 11% for 21 April 2027 – 20 April 2028. The notification implements the final findings of the Director General (Trade Remedies) (DGTR notification 22/01/2024-DGTR dated 16 August 2025) which concluded that imports of subject goods rose from 2.293 mt in FY 2021-22 to 6.612 mt during the period of investigation, causing serious injury and threat of serious injury to the domestic industry. The definitive measure supersedes the provisional 200-day safeguard duty imposed at 12% ad valorem from 21 April 2025 by Notification 01/2025-Customs (SG); no safeguard duty applies for the interim period between expiry of the provisional duty (early November 2025) and the day preceding Gazette publication of the definitive notification. Imports from developing-country WTO members are exempt unless the share of any individual developing country exceeds 3% of total imports of the subject goods, or the collective share of developing countries exceeding 3% individually exceeds 9% — the China and Vietnam carve-outs from this exemption preserve full applicability of the duty to the dominant cheap-import sources.

At its 30 December 2025 regular session, Iraq's Council of Ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani, approved two additional customs duties on imports from all countries of origin: a 40% additional duty on medical and industrial oxygen (gaseous and liquid forms), in effect for four years, and a 30% additional duty on imported yogurt (laban rayeb) and liquid milk. Both measures were framed as protecting domestic pharmaceutical/ industrial-gas production and local dairy manufacturing respectively, and take effect 120 days after issuance (29 April 2026) to give importers an adjustment window. Global Trade Alert logs the dairy duty as principally affecting Germany, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye as leading supplier origins, though the measure itself is non-discriminatory (applies to all origins).

Iraq's Council of Ministers Decision No. 957 of 2025 (approved late 2025) revises the country's full customs tariff schedule — roughly 16,400 tariff lines across 99 HS chapters — into rate brackets from 0.5% to 30%, effective 1 January 2026 at all federal ports. Within that reform, the General Customs Authority singled out hybrid and electric vehicles (model year 2025 and newer) — previously exempt to encourage adoption — for a new 15% import duty, alongside a matching 15% duty on gold and other goods classed as non-essential/luxury. Global Trade Alert logs Austria, Canada and China as the leading supplier-origin countries affected, though the duty applies non-discriminately to all countries of origin.

On 30 December 2025 the General Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government issued Hufubangui [2025] No. 20, a three-year action plan (1 January 2026 - 31 December 2028) to support the transformation and upgrading of advanced manufacturing. The plan sets quantitative targets — 100 new manufacturing enterprises with annual output above CNY 1 billion by 2028 (cumulative 600+), 500 new above-designated-size supply-chain enterprises, 100+ new national-level green factories, a robot density of 600 units per 10,000 workers, and 70%+ digital-equipment penetration — across next-generation electronics, intelligent connected new-energy vehicles, high-end equipment, advanced materials, green low-carbon and fashion consumer-goods industries, plus emerging bets on the low-altitude economy, commercial aerospace, embodied intelligence (robotics) and biomanufacturing. It is funded through tiered direct subsidies rather than tax relief: one-off R&D subsidies up to CNY 10 million, equipment/new-materials cost-share up to 30% of contract value (capped at CNY 20 million), technical- transformation loan/leasing interest support up to CNY 20 million cumulative, and 0.8-1.3% interest subsidies on component/material backup-inventory financing.

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 10 individuals and entities in Venezuela and Iran on 30 December 2025 for facilitating Iran's proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and ballistic-missile inputs. Venezuela-based Empresa Aeronautica Nacional SA (EANSA) and its chair, Jose Jesus Urdaneta Gonzalez, were designated for negotiating directly with Iran's Qods Aviation Industries (QAI) and overseeing local assembly of QAI's Mohajer-series UAVs, re-branded in Venezuela as the ANSU series — an arrangement OFAC states has run since 2006. Separately, three Iran-based persons were designated for procuring sodium perchlorate, sebacic acid and nitrocellulose — precursor chemicals for ballistic-missile propellant and warhead production — on behalf of Parchin Chemical Industries (PCI), a unit of Iran's Defense Industries Organization (DIO). The action was taken under Executive Order 13382 (WMD proliferators and supporters) and Executive Order 13949 (Iran conventional-arms activities), in furtherance of National Security Presidential Memorandum 2.

On 29 December 2025, Brazil's national development bank BNDES approved R$1.13 billion (~USD 205 million) in financing for Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) to modernise three industrial plants at the Usina Presidente Vargas in Volta Redonda (RJ). R$625.8 million comes through the Finem credit line for sintering-plant emissions-control upgrades (new electrostatic precipitators and bag filters) that partly reimburse investments CSN made since 2023 to satisfy a Term of Adjustment of Conduct (TAC) with Rio de Janeiro's state environmental agency (INEA). A further R$500 million comes through the BNDES Mais Inovação programme for innovative machinery, IT equipment and IoT technology services. BNDES states the financing "fortalece a cadeia produtiva nacional de equipamentos" (strengthens the national equipment supply chain), giving the operation a domestic-content-preference dimension alongside its environmental/innovation financing purpose.

China's State Council Tariff Commission published its annual "2026 Tariff Adjustment Plan" (税委会公告2025年第11号) on 29 December 2025, effective 1 January 2026. The plan sets provisional import tariff rates below MFN levels on 935 products, while cancelling provisional rates on certain other products (reverting them to standard MFN rates). It adds new national tariff subheadings for intelligent bionic robots, bio-aviation kerosene, forest-grown ginseng, and other items, bringing the total tariff schedule to 8,972 lines. The government frames the provisional-rate cuts — covering key components and advanced materials such as CNC hydraulic air cushions for stamping presses, recycled "black powder" (黑粉) lithium-ion battery feedstock, artificial blood vessels and infectious-disease diagnostic kits — as support for "high-level sci-tech self-reliance" and modernisation of the industrial system. China also continues zero-tariff treatment on 100% of tariff lines for the 43 least-developed countries with diplomatic relations with China, and continues Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement preferential rates for Bangladesh, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Decree reforming various tariff fractions of the General Import and Export Duties Tariff (TIGIE), published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 29 December 2025 and in force 1 January 2026. The reform, approved by Congress as a statutory amendment to the LIGIE (Chamber of Deputies and Senate, Dec 2025) and signed by President Claudia Sheinbaum, raises MFN import duties to between 5% and 50% ad valorem on 1,463 tariff lines covering more than 20 chapters of the TIGIE, spanning automotive, auto parts, textiles, apparel, footwear, steel, aluminum, plastics, paper, leather, furniture, glass, toys, appliances and cosmetics. The increases apply only to goods originating in countries without a free trade agreement with Mexico — principally China, South Korea, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Brazil, Indonesia, Chinese Taipei, the UAE, and South Africa. The decree formalises at statutory level the September 2024 Sheinbaum executive order placing a 50% duty on finished passenger vehicles from non-FTA states and is framed by the Secretaría de Economía and SHCP as the operational tariff instrument of Plan México (2025-01-21).

Zimbabwe's Finance Act No. 7 of 2025, gazetted 29 December 2025 and effective 1 January 2026, creates a three-tier fiscal escalator designed to force domestic lithium beneficiation before export. Unbeneficiated lithium concentrate exports are subject to a 10% VAT on gross fair market value (calculated against the lithium sulphate equivalent); lithium sulphate exports attract 0% VAT, incentivising mid-stream processing; and lithium carbonate is deemed fully beneficiated under the VAT Act and incurs no export-stage VAT. The Act complements the operational export-suspension instruments (SI 57/2023, Feb 2026 ministerial directive) with a permanent fiscal architecture that makes unbeneficiated export structurally uneconomic relative to processed product, building toward the full raw-lithium export ban scheduled for 1 January 2027.

The Huadu District Government Office in Guangzhou (Guangdong Province) issued "Measures for Promoting High-Quality Development of New Energy and Intelligent Connected Vehicle Industries" (花府办规〔2025〕11号), effective upon issuance on 31 December 2025 for a two-year term. The package covers R&D-platform grants (up to RMB 100m per enterprise), model-promotion subsidies (up to RMB 50m per model), an L4+ autonomous-vehicle fleet-scale bonus (up to RMB 20m per enterprise), core-component investment rebates (1% of qualifying investment ≥RMB 50m, capped at RMB 300m), battery-production scale bonuses (up to RMB 60m for 5GWh+ output), at least RMB 200m for a "vehicle-road-cloud" integrated pilot zone (200+ autonomous vehicles, ~2,000 OBU retrofits), per-enterprise autonomous-fleet-operation subsidies (up to RMB 200m for qualifying passenger/cargo fleets), preferential industrial-land pricing (minimum 70% of benchmark rate), and facility-cost subsidies (up to RMB 150m/year for 3-5 years). It is a sub-provincial, district-level instrument implementing national NEV industrial-policy and the 2025-2026 Automobile Industry Stabilization and Growth Work Plan at the local level.

On 27 December 2025, Codelco and SQM formally closed NovaAndino Litio SpA, the 50:50 joint venture (with a golden share for state-owned Codelco) mandated by the 2023 National Lithium Strategy to bring the Salar de Atacama under state operational control. The vehicle is formed by merging Codelco's subsidiary Minera Tarar SpA with SQM's SQM Salar SpA, governed by a six-director board (three Codelco, three SQM), and runs until 2060 under a CORFO contract amendment that extends operations beyond SQM's previous 2030 lease expiry. SQM manages operations 2025-2030, Codelco from 2031 onward; the Chilean state captures up to ~70% of operating margins through 2030 and ~85% from 2031. As part of the closing, SQM transferred all of its mining concessions in the Salar de Maricunga to Codelco. President Boric and the Cabinet Económico formally endorsed the venture on 29 December 2025, when the first board meeting was held in Santiago.