Erdogan Says He's Hopeful That US Will Relax Defense Sanctions
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is looking for Washington to ease defense sanctions on his country as ties warm up between the NATO allies under the new US administration.
'We can comfortably say that there is a softening in CAATSA,' Erdogan told reporters on the flight back to Turkey from Albania, where he attended the European Political Community summit in Tirana on Friday.
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Why Viasat Stock Floated Higher Today
It benefited from a growing dispute between President Trump and Elon Musk. If the latter loses federal government business for Starlink, Viasat could potentially poach such clients. 10 stocks we like better than Viasat › Satellite stocks were in vogue in late trading on Thursday, thanks to a rapidly escalating spat between two of the most high-profile individuals in the world. A beneficiary of this was Viasat (NASDAQ: VSAT), which ended up booking a 2.6% gain in its share price on the day. That made it an outperformer in light of the S&P 500 index's 0.5% decline. Earlier in the day, a social media war of words erupted between President Trump and former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk. That occurred just after Musk, on his X (formerly Twitter) platform, leveled criticisms against Trump's One Big, Beautiful Bill currently making rather jagged progress through the Senate. In one of several responses on Trump's favored social media platform, Truth Social, the president made what can easily be taken as a direct and unambiguous threat to Musk's various businesses. He wrote that "The easiest way to save money in our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon's governmental subsidies and contracts." Among Musk's businesses, which of course include Tesla, are SpaceX and Starlink. The latter company counts federal government agencies such as the Departments of Defense and Commerce as its clients. If such revenue sources were indeed to be cut off suddenly, the move would have quite a detrimental effect on Space X. Its loss would surely be rivals' gain; hence the interest in Viasat. The company provides satellite services that rival those of Starlink. Of course, so far there have been tough words but no action in regards to shutting off the federal taps that flow to Musk's business. Personally, I wouldn't trade Viasat or any potential beneficiary on rhetoric alone right now, but this is a rapidly developing story that's worth monitoring for anyone invested in satellite or space stocks presently. Before you buy stock in Viasat, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Viasat wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $869,841!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 789% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Viasat Stock Floated Higher Today was originally published by The Motley Fool Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
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an hour ago
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Trump says Xi agreed to restart flow of crucial minerals, but analysts say China won't give up its ‘rare earth card'
US President Donald Trump said Chinese leader Xi Jinping has agreed to restart the flow of crucial rare earth materials, after announcing a new round of US-China trade talks will be held in London on Monday. Trump made the comments a day after holding his long-awaited phone call with Xi, during which the two leaders agreed to resume negotiations stalled over mutual accusations of violating the truce reached in Geneva last month. For Washington, a major sticking point has been China's export restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets, which are essential for everything from cars to fighter jets, and critical to American industries and defense. In the weeks since the fragile detente, Washington has accused Beijing of slow-walking approvals for rare earth exports and reneging on its promise made in Geneva, with Trump expressing increasing urgency to speak to his Chinese counterpart to iron things out. After a 90-minute call on Thursday, Trump said he and Xi had 'straightened out' some points related to rare earth magnets, describing it as 'very complex stuff.' But he did not specify what exactly had been agreed upon. Asked Friday if Xi had agreed to restart the flow of rare earth minerals and magnets, Trump told reporters abroad Air Force One: 'Yes, he did.' He did not further elaborate on how fast that would happen, or the volume of the materials that would be released. The Chinese readout of the call did not mention rare earths. Instead, it quoted Xi as saying that China had 'seriously and earnestly' complied with the trade truce agreement. Asked about it at the Chinese foreign ministry's daily briefing on Friday, a spokesperson sidestepped the question, saying it was a matter for other agencies to address. China, which controls 90% of the global processing of rare earths, imposed export restrictions on some minerals and magnets on April 4 at the height of the tariff war, after Trump slapped 'reciprocal' levies on Chinese goods. The new system does not ban exports outright, but requires government approval for each shipment. Chinese scholars who advise the government suggested on Thursday that Beijing is not ready to give up the powerful leverage bestowed by its dominance on the rare earth supply chain – and may seek to use it to get Washington to ease its own export controls aimed at blocking China's access to advanced US semiconductors and technologies. While American businesses are likely to see more shipments approved in the next couple of weeks, the export licensing regime is here to stay, said Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. He noted that, according to official rules set by China's Commerce Ministry, applications for export licenses can take up to 45 working days to be approved. 'In principle, I can agree to export to you, but I can speed things up or slow them down. In reality, on a technical level, it also depends on the overall bilateral trade and economic atmosphere,' he said. 'If the bilateral relationship is good, then I'll go a bit faster; if not, I'll slow down. But you can't say I'm violating the agreement – I'm still following the standard procedures.' Some Chinese suppliers of US companies have recently received six-month export licenses, the American Chamber of Commerce in China said Friday, but it noted that uncertainty remains amid a large backlog of license applications. Jin Canrong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, said the importance Trump attaches to rare earths shows how effective China's 'rare earth card' is. 'I hadn't realized just how important this rare earth card was before. Now the US side is clearly anxious and eager to resolve this issue,' he said in a video on social media on Thursday. 'But of course, we'll link this issue to others – the US is restricting China on chips and jet engines, then China certainly has every reason to make use of this card.' 'As for whether China will change its rare earth export control policy, that probably still needs to be negotiated in more detail' Jin added. Some Chinese scholars have expressed hope that US technology restrictions on China may now be up for negotiation, after Trump announced that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick – whose department overseas US export controls – will join Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in the next round of trade talks. 'The issue of US export controls may no longer be an area that is completely non-negotiable in the future,' Cui Fan, an economics professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and advisor to the Chinese Commerce Ministry, wrote in a social media post. Beijing has insisted that its export controls are in line with international practices, non-discriminatory and not targeted at any specific country. Hours before the two leaders jumped on the phone on Thursday, a spokesperson for China's commerce ministry reiterated that stance at a regular news conference, citing the 'clear dual-use attributes' of rare earth materials. Dual-use items refer to those with both civilian and military applications. 'The Chinese government reviews export license applications for dual-use items in accordance with laws and regulations, and for applications that meet the requirements, China will grant approval to promote and facilitate compliant trade,' spokesperson He Yongqian said. The strict licensing system has significantly disrupted the global supplies of these materials and triggered production turmoil across industries in America and Europe, raising alarms among officials and businesses alike. A survey of member companies conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China late week found that, among those affected by rare earth export controls, 75% say their stock would run out within three months. CNN's Kit Maher contributed to reporting.
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US tariffs, export controls not directed at Singapore, says Rubio in meeting with Vivian
SINGAPORE – Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has raised the impact of America's tariffs and export controls with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said these were not directed at Singapore. 'Nevertheless, there is a lot of work in the next few months to ensure that there are no adverse secondary impacts on Singapore, so we will have to continue to engage the administration very, very closely in the months ahead,' said Dr Balakrishnan in a statement after they met on June 4. Dr Balakrishnan is in Washington on a working visit. He and Mr Rubio had a 'substantive and wide-ranging discussion' on bilateral ties and international developments, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). It added that Dr Balakrishnan registered the impact of the US' tariff policy on Singapore as a small and open economy that is highly dependent on trade, and the Republic's commitment to constructive engagement with the US to find mutually beneficial arrangements, including on pharmaceutical exports. In May, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said preferential or even zero tariffs on Singapore's pharmaceutical exports to the US are possible concessions that emerged in ongoing talks between the countries. However, the secondary impact has already hit the Republic, with Singapore's factory activity contracting for a second month in May off the back of US President Donald Trump's tariffs continuing to threaten the global economy. The majority of Mr Trump's sweeping global tariffs have been paused for 90 days, with the pause expected to expire at the start of July. On June 4, Mr Trump signed an order to double tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from 25 per cent to 50 per cent. During their meeting, Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Rubio also reaffirmed the longstanding and substantive bilateral relationship between the two countries in traditional areas of the economy, defence and security, as well as emerging areas such as critical technologies, energy and artificial intelligence. MFA said they also discussed other potential areas for collaboration, such as when the US holds the presidency for the Group of 20 major economies in 2026 and how Singapore can contribute to US priorities in meaningful and practical ways. In a separate statement, a spokesperson for Mr Rubio said he reaffirmed the strength of the US-Singapore strategic partnership and the shared commitment of both countries to a 'safe, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region'. Dr Balakrishnan is on a working visit to London and Washington from June 3 to 7, aimed at advancing bilateral cooperation in traditional and emerging areas of mutual interest. His visit to Washington – where he will meet senior administration officials, members of Congress and other senior personalities – is the first ministerial visit from Singapore to the US following both governments' new terms in office. He will also participate in a fireside chat hosted by US think-tank Hudson Institute, to discuss how the US can deepen engagement with Singapore and the region. Anjali Raguraman is a correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers politics, as well as consumer stories spanning tourism, retail and F&B. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction Discover how to enjoy other premium articles here
