1、 The New Age of Industrial Policy:What It Means for Business Strategy Teneo Insights|March 2026 1 Executive SummaryBottom Line Up Front Industrial policy is no longer a policy debate.It is a market condition.Companies that treat it as a short-term cyclical event risk falling behind.It is now a centr
2、al feature of economic strategy in the U.S.,the EU,China and beyond.These policies are now mission-driven and explicitly geopolitical,not primarily driven by rationales of competitiveness.Industrial policy is louder,larger,more strategically targeted,more politically defended and more likely to dist
3、ort trade.This is not a temporary departure from globalization.It represents a new model of economic competition.Using the Global Trade Alert NIPO database,we observed a spike in annual protectionist industrial policy use,increasing from 1,141 in 2009 to 1,977 in 2025.Roughly 63%of these measures or
4、iginate from the U.S.,EU+UK and China,the worlds largest economic blocs.The type of policy mechanism has also evolved.In 2025,import barriers(27%),domestic subsidies(26%)and financial/investment controls(23%)were the three main applications of the“toolkit.”Policy has shifted toward concentrated inte
5、rvention in machinery,semiconductors,transport equipment,energy,critical minerals and dual-use technologies.National security and geopolitical objectives are the primary driving motives today.The Implications for Business Companies can no longer treat industrial policy as a compliance issue or a ris
6、k to hedge at the margins.It is now a board-level strategic variable.Leaders must:Adopt a long-term view of protectionism:Recognize that protectionist and industrial policies are becoming structural features of the global economy Strengthen internal policy intelligence:Build capabilities to track,mo