Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,188
Here's where things stand on Tuesday, May 27:
Ukraine says it has confirmed information that China is supplying a range of important products to Russian military plants, including tooling machines, special chemical products, gunpowder and components specifically to defence manufacturing industries.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Qatar Tribune
Canada to boost mining amid China's rare earth curbs, says ex-finance minister
Agencies Canada's new government will invest more in mining at a time when the country's economy and manufacturing sector are facing 'challenges' related to China's curbs on rare earth exports, Bill Morneau, former Canadian finance minister, told the Post. 'One of the challenges for Canada is that we will need to increase our own mining,' Morneau, who was in office between 2015 and 2020 under then-prime minister Justin Trudeau, said in Shanghai on Friday. 'The initiative by new [Prime Minister] Mark Carney is to advance the ability to get big projects done. Certainly, mining is one of the critical ones,' Morneau explained. The former official acknowledged how Canada had taken some flak – collateral damage – amid US-China trade war escalations. Canadian firms, he said, have been affected by China's export restrictions on critical minerals that are still reverberating through the global industrial chain. 'Canada has a very significant part to play in the North American automotive sector. Any challenges around rare earths have an impact on that sector and, therefore, on Canada,' he said. 'So, there is a stake in that discussion for Canada. It's one of the important reasons that we hope these things get resolved.' Canada is sitting on a reserve of 15.2 million tonnes of rare earth oxide, according to a 2023 official estimate. Its reserves include both light and heavy rare earth elements, with key projects in Quebec and Labrador. Also on Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford was quoted by the Financial Times as saying that Canada was fast-tracking development of its critical minerals reserve over indigenous opposition, to generate revenue in response to US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Morneau also complained about how long it took to get mining approvals. Mining projects in Canada have traditionally been a complex process involving multiple levels of government, with discussions concerning the environment, indigenous rights and workers' safety, to name a few. Sometimes the process can take several years. 'Canada has much opportunity … But we have not been as rapid in getting mining approvals as we would like,' Morneau said. 'But clearly, China has a significant advantage in rare earths from the investments made over many years. I hope that we have – as much as possible – a free flow of trade in that area.' In a new development, China has granted permits to a major rare earth miner to facilitate shipments to the US and Europe. This is widely seen as a positive outcome after Chinese and US officials had 'agreed in principle' to a trade framework – pending approval from their respective leaders – following crunch talks in London and a call between presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump on June 5. Beijing's perceived slow progress in loosening its export controls, in place since April, on critical minerals, the lifeline for hi-tech industries – including smartphones, electric vehicles and fighter jets – was a major gripe for the US. Morneau, an advocate of closer ties with China as a hedge against uncertainties from Canada's long-standing ally, said he was encouraged to see the latest talks between Beijing and Washington. 'There is a need for an understanding between the two, which will help all other countries in the Western sphere to have better trading opportunities with China,' he talks hold out hopes of a mutual understanding, he said, adding, however, that everyone has to understand there will continue to be geopolitical rivalries – those are natural and expected. 'The acute issue right now is, can we get to a more stable trading situation? There are places where the US and China will not agree. That's just the way it is. But as soon as we can get to an understanding on where we do agree, then it's easier to have a trading relationship that works.' Getting down to the specifics in trade talks is a good place to start, he said. 'Discussions about rare earths are specific discussions,' Morneau explained. 'If we can agree on the specifics and places where we are going to allow businesses to successfully interact, then that will be a precursor to improved outcomes.' On the Chinese economy, Morneau said China faces challenges similar to those faced by many countries. 'There are long-term demographic issues. There are the obvious challenges of moving to domestic demand-led growth when you have more volatility around trade,' he said. His advice to Beijing was to improve social security. 'One of the reasons people increase consumption is their confidence. Social programmes always have an important place to play,' he said. 'That's been our experience in Canada.' After both Beijing and Ottawa had repeatedly clashed with Washington on trade, Carney and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, in a June 6 phone call, agreed on a 'reset' in the bilateral relationship after years of turbulence. Morneau expressed optimism that China and Canada could expeditiously resolve disputes and grow trade in agriculture, natural resources and tech. China is Canada's second-largest trading partner after the US, but a string of incidents in recent years deeply strained ties. China also imposes tariffs on Canadian agricultural exports such as canola and seafood.
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Al Jazeera
Why China's rare earth exports are a key issue in trade tensions with US
China's export of rare earth elements is central to the trade deal struck this week with the United States. Beijing has a virtual monopoly on the supply of the critical minerals, which are used to make everything from cars to drones and wind turbines. Earlier this year, Beijing leveraged its dominance of the sector to hit back at US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, placing export controls on seven rare earths and related products. The restrictions created a headache for global manufacturers, particularly automakers, who rely on the materials. After talks in Geneva in May, the US and China announced a 90-day pause on their escalating tit-for-tat tariffs, during which time US levies would be reduced from 145 percent to 30 percent and Chinese duties from 125 percent to 10 percent. The truce had appeared to be in jeopardy in recent weeks after Washington accused Beijing of not moving fast enough to ease its restrictions on rare earths exports. After two days of marathon talks in London, the two sides on Wednesday announced a 'framework' to get trade back on track. Trump said the deal would see rare earth minerals 'supplied, up front,' though many details of the agreement are still unclear. Rare earths are a group of 17 elements that are essential to numerous manufacturing industries. The auto industry has become particularly reliant on rare-earth magnets for steering systems, engines, brakes and many other parts. China has long dominated the mining and processing of rare earth minerals, as well as the production of related components like rare earth magnets. It mines about 70 percent of the world's rare earths and processes approximately 90 percent of the supply. China also maintains near-total control over the supply of heavy rare earths, including dysprosium and terbium. China's hold over the industry had been a concern for the US and other countries for some time, but their alarm grew after Beijing imposed export controls in April. The restrictions affected supplies of samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium, and required companies shipping materials and finished products overseas to obtain export licences. The restrictions followed a similar move by China in February, when it placed export controls on tungsten, bismuth and three other 'niche metals'. While news of a deal on rare earths signals a potential reprieve for manufacturers, the details of its implementation remain largely unclear. Chinese customs data shows the sale of rare earths to the US dropped 37 percent in April, while the sale of rare earth magnets fell 58 percent for the US and 51 percent worldwide, according to Bloomberg. Global rare earth exports recovered 23 percent in May, following talks between US and Chinese officials in Geneva, but they are still down overall from a year earlier. The greatest alarm has been felt by carmakers and auto parts manufacturers in the US and Europe, who reported bottlenecks after working their way through inventories of rare earth magnets. 'The automobile industry is now using words like panic. This isn't something that the auto industry is just talking about and trying to make a big stir. This is serious right now, and they're talking about shutting down production lines,' Mark Smith, a mining and mineral processing expert and the CEO of the US-based NioCorp Developments, told Al Jazeera. Even with news of a breakthrough, Western companies are still worried about their future access to rare earths and magnets and how their dependence on China's supply chain could be leveraged against them. The Financial Times reported on Thursday that China's Ministry of Commerce has been demanding 'sensitive business information to secure rare earths and magnets' from Western companies in China, including production details and customer lists. Trump shared some details of the agreement on his social media platform, Truth Social, where he also addressed concerns about rare earths and rare earth magnets. 'We are getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%. The relationship is excellent,' Trump said, using a figure for US duties that includes levies introduced during his first term. 'Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China. Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities (which has always been good with me),' Trump said. Ahead of the negotiations in London, China's Ministry of Commerce had said it approved an unspecified number of export licences for rare earths, and it was willing to 'further strengthen communication and dialogue on export controls with relevant countries'. However, an op-ed published by state news outlet Xinhua this week said rare earth export controls were not 'short-term bargaining tools' or 'tactical countermeasures' but a necessary measure because rare earths can be used for both civilian and military purposes. NioCorp Developments' Smith said Beijing is unlikely to quickly give up such powerful leverage over the US entirely. 'There's going to be a whole bunch of words, but I really think China is going to hold the US hostage on this issue, because why not?' he said. 'They've worked really hard to get into the position that they're in. They have 100 percent control over the heavy rare earth production in the world. Why not use that?' Deborah Elms, the head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore, said it was hard to predict how rare earths would be treated in negotiations, which would need to balance other US concerns like China's role in exporting the deadly opioid fentanyl to the US. Beijing, for its part, will want guarantees that it can access advanced critical US technology to make advanced semiconductors, she said.
Qatar Tribune
4 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Fed seen on track to start cutting rates by September
Agencies New York Cooler-than-expected US inflation last month deepened conviction in financial markets on Wednesday that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates by September and deliver a second reduction by the end of this year. A US government report showed the Consumer Price Index - a measure of underlying inflation - rose just 0.1 percent in May after a 0.2 percent rise in April, with overall consumer prices rising 2.4 percent from a year earlier, up just one-tenth of a percentage point from the prior month and less than the 2.5 percent economists hadexpected. Within minutes of the release, traders of short-term interest rate futures had priced in a 68 percent chance that the US central bank would cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point by September, compared with 57 percent before the data. They now also see a still small but rising chance of an earlier rate cut, putting about an 18 percent probability of that happening in July versus about 13 percent earlier on Wednesday. The Fed will almost certainly leave its benchmark interest rate steady in the 4.25 percent -4.5 percent range at the end of its two-day policy meeting next week. The policy rate has been in that range since December. Fed policymakers expect the Trump administration's tariffs to slow progress toward their 2 percent inflation target and to weaken the labor market, but feel that as long as the job market holds up - the unemployment rate has been steady at a relatively low 4.2 percent - they can leave borrowing costs where they are to keep continued downward pressure on inflation. Uncertainty over the path of tariffs and their effects on the economy remains high. President Donald Trump announced earlier on Wednesday that a US-China trade deal had been struck that would set tariffs on Chinese goods at 55 percent - lower than the 145 percent imposed in April but much higher than in recent decades. The US has otherwise struck only one other trade deal, with the UK, as the clock ticks toward the early July expiration of a 90-day pause on sharply elevated tariffs on imports from most of the rest of the world. Even so, financial markets breathed a sigh of relief after the inflation data. 'We are still cautious, but many of the risks that were present in early April appear to be receding at this time,' said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management.
