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China is quick to act when US tariffs on its imports go into effect, but experts say it's leaving room for negotiation.
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Al Jazeera
8 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Boeing CEO cancels airshow visit as investigation starts on India crash
Boeing and GE Aerospace are scaling back their public activities following the fatal crash of an Air India jetliner, with the planemaker's CEO cancelling his trip to the Paris Airshow next week and GE postponing an investor day. More than 240 people were killed when an Air India Boeing 787 jet bound for London crashed moments after taking off from the city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, authorities said, in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a message to staff on Thursday evening that he and Boeing Commercial Airplanes boss Stephanie Pope had cancelled plans to attend the Paris Airshow 'so we can be with our team and focus on our customer and the investigation.' The airshow, which runs from June 16 to June 20 at Le Bourget, is the global aviation industry's largest trade show, where typically many aircraft orders are placed by airlines. Ortberg had been due to attend for the first time as Boeing CEO since being appointed to lead the company out of a series of back-to-back safety, industrial and corporate crises. Aircraft engine maker GE Aerospace, whose engines were in the Boeing 787 plane, had planned an investor day on June 17, coinciding with the show. GE said the briefing had been cancelled and it would put a team together to go to India and analyse data from the crashed aeroplane. 'GE Aerospace's senior leadership is focused on supporting our customers and the investigation,' the company said. It said it planned to give a financial update later this month. Safety experts stressed it was too early to speculate why one of the world's most modern airliners should crash shortly after takeoff. Accidents in that phase of flight are rare, said Paul Hayes, safety director at UK consultancy Cirium Ascend. The Indian investigation of the crash is currently focusing on the engine, flaps and landing gear, Reuters reported on Friday, citing an unnamed source, as the country's regulator ordered safety checks on Air India's entire Boeing-787 fleet. Under global aviation rules, India will lead the probe with support from NTSB investigators in the United States, who will, in turn, liaise with Boeing and GE on technical matters. The reduced attendance plans came as delegates said the crash had cast a sombre mood over the airshow, putting in doubt several order announcements and putting safety back in the spotlight alongside concerns about US tariffs. The world's largest aviation trade expo, running from June 16 to 20 in Le Bourget, usually gives aircraft and arms manufacturers a key stage to showcase deals and sets the tone for a global supply chain already under pressure from shortages. Boeing shares were down Friday, falling 3.8 percent, while GE Aerospace was down 2.4 percent. Boeing has cancelled some events and is unlikely to make any commercial order announcements at the show, though it will press ahead with low-key briefings on other topics, delegates said. One key expected announcement had been a potential order for dozens of Boeing jets, including the 787 from Royal Air Maroc. But the airline plans no announcement at the show, and this will also affect Airbus, which had been expected to sell it some 20 A220s, industry sources said. None of the companies had any comment on specific deals. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury on Friday expressed condolences over the accident, and the world's largest planemaker was expected to observe a muted tone surrounding what had been expected to be a busy week for orders to meet high demand. One delegate said business would continue but with fewer of the high-profile news conferences and in-person announcements associated with the industry's biggest commercial showcase. Another said some order announcements could be delayed until later in the year as a mark of respect for victims. 'The show will be a lot more sombre, less celebratory,' said a delegate involved in planning one such announcement, speaking anonymously because the plans have not been publicly revealed. 'The show will go ahead as planned, but it will be more subdued and with less cheerleading,' the delegate said.
Al Jazeera
2 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.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Al Jazeera
Fashion brands accused of shortcuts on climate pledges overlooking workers
Fashion brands including luxury label Hermes, sportswear giant Nike, and fast fashion chain H&M are in the hot seat amid new allegations of climate greenwashing after making commitments to slash carbon emissions in Asia, which is home to more than 50 percent of global garment production. A report released this morning by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), titled, The Missing Thread, analysed 65 global fashion brands. It found that while 44 of them had made public commitments to reduce carbon emissions, none had adopted what is known as a 'Just Transition' policy, a concept first introduced during COP27 in Egypt in 2022. A Just Transition ensures that workers are not left behind as industries shift towards a low-carbon economy. Only 11 companies in the study acknowledged the climate-related impact on workers in their social and human rights policies. Just four provided any guidance on managing heat-related stress. Only two companies among those deemed the most ambitious by the report mentioned the welfare of workers. These included Inditex, the Spanish retail giant that owns the fast fashion company Zara, and Kering, the parent company of Gucci. 'Decarbonisation done without workers as critical and creative partners is not a just transition, it's a dangerous shortcut,' said Natalie Swan, labour rights programme manager at BHRRC, in a news release. Currently, the global textile industry relies on 98 million tonnes of non-renewable resources per year, such as oil and fertiliser. At current trends, the fashion industry is on track to be responsible for more than 25 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. 'The fashion industry's climate targets mean little if the people who make its products are not taken into consideration,' Swan said. 'It's not enough to go green. It has to be clean and fair.' 'Brands must stop hiding behind greenwashing slogans and start seriously engaging workers and their trade unions, whose rights, livelihoods and safety are under threat from both climate change and the industry's response to it. A just transition is not just a responsibility, it's a critical opportunity to build a fairer, more resilient fashion industry that works for people and the planet.' Al Jazeera reached out to Nike, Hermes, H&M, Inditex and Kering. None of them responded to a request for comment. The effects of climate change have already hit much of Southeast Asia hard. Garment workers in countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam have experienced extreme weather events such as surging temperatures and severe flooding. In Bangladesh, workers reported fainting from heat-related illnesses. According to the report, factories allegedly failed to provide fans or drinking water. Similar challenges were noted in Cambodia, where temperatures regularly exceeded 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) during a 2022 heatwave. A third of workers said they had already lost work due to automation. In Bangladesh's garment sector, 30 percent reported job losses stemming from technological changes. These shifts have disproportionately affected female workers, who are less likely to receive training on new technologies and are often excluded from on-the-job learning opportunities that could help them adapt to evolving industry demands.
