Global Trade Policy Landscape: A Mix of Protectionist and Liberalisation Measures

• Between June 3 to June 16, 2025, a total of 34 new foreign policy measures were announced globally. Of these, 76.5% were restrictive, introducing new barriers to international trade and limiting market access, while the remainder were liberalising measures, designed to ease existing trade barriers.
• These new policy actions reveal several key trends, including greater protection of domestic industries from geopolitical risks, efforts to boost strategic sector competitiveness, and selective liberalisation with eased restrictions in some areas.
• Over the two weeks, 15 markets introduced new foreign policy measures. The United States (U.S.) and the European Union (EU) increased tariffs to shield domestic industrial and consumer sectors from foreign competition. Italy and Canada have provided financial aid to the energy, agriculture, and industrial sectors to boost their competitiveness. In contrast, New Zealand and Mainland China are taking steps to open up certain essential and strategic industries, with New Zealand granting tariff concessions and China issuing export licenses.
• Italy, India, and Russia were also particularly active in imposing new measures. The majority of their actions targeted sectors such as financial services, industrial inputs, and consumer goods. Conversely, Mainland China, the US, Germany, and France are among the markets set to be most affected by new measures, primarily in sectors such as industrial inputs, consumer goods, and pharmaceuticals.
• Key segments such as industrial inputs, consumer goods, and energy were notably impacted by policy measures. These sectors accounted for over 67% of the policies implemented during this period.
• The industrial segment faced mainly restrictive policies, especially in agriculture and precious metals, with Italy and India providing financial support to limit international competition. Australia, however, eased tariffs on rubber, aiding global trade.
• For consumer goods, Russia reduced export duties on grains, boosting international markets, while Turkey implemented price controls that could restrict exports. The energy sector saw only restrictive measures: Canada funded domestic energy firms like Eavor Technologies, strengthening local industry, and Denmark provided trade finance to support clean energy exports to Ukraine.

(Source: Fitch Connect)