Latest news with #importTariffs
National Post
29-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
Westwater Resources Supports U.S. Department of Commerce Decision on Chinese Graphite Anode Material
Article content CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Westwater Resources, Inc. (NYSE American: WWR), an energy technology and battery-grade natural graphite company ('Westwater' or the 'Company'), announced today its support of the U.S. Department of Commerce's ('DOC') preliminary determination in the countervailing duty investigation of anode material from the People's Republic of China. The DOC's initial ruling determined that Chinese producers of anode material are receiving unfair government subsidies, and as a result, are now expected to be subject to U.S. import tariffs of up to 721%. Article content 'This important decision by the DOC is another step toward leveling the playing field for U.S. producers,' said Jon Jacobs, Westwater's Chief Commercial Officer. 'We expect this announcement to accelerate off-take agreements with Westwater and to positively affect our ongoing financing efforts. U.S. automaker and cellmaker buyers are increasingly concluding that executing offtake supply agreements with U.S. producers like Westwater is the surest way to avoid import tariffs and is therefore their most economical long-term solution.' Article content Pursuant to the preliminary determination, select Chinese natural and artificial graphite anode material producers will be subject to U.S. import tariffs of up to 721% in addition to pre-existing Section 301 and reciprocal tariffs already totaling 55%. Article content The DOC is also conducting a concurrent antidumping investigation into anode materials imports from the People's Republic of China. This investigation is focused on determining whether Chinese producers are selling graphite-based anode materials in the United States at unfairly low prices – thereby harming U.S. producers. A preliminary decision is expected in July, and if the DOC finds sufficient evidence of dumping, it could impose additional duties and broader penalties. Article content Mr. Jacobs added, 'The outcome of the antidumping investigation is expected to play a critical role in supporting the development of a robust, secure, and fair domestic supply chain for graphite and battery materials, which are vital to U.S. energy independence and national security. For companies like Westwater Resources that are investing in sustainable, U.S.-based production capabilities, these trade actions should help reduce the nation's reliance on foreign supply chains and benefit domestic producers.' Article content Westwater Resources is an energy technology company that is focused on developing battery-grade natural graphite. Westwater Resources' primary project is the Kellyton Graphite Processing Plant that is under construction in east-central Alabama. In addition, Westwater Resources' Coosa Graphite Deposit is the largest and most advanced natural flake graphite deposit in the contiguous United States — and is located across 41,965 acres (~17,000 hectares) in Coosa County, Alabama. For more information, visit Article content Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Article content This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are identified by words and phrases such as 'initial,' 'preliminary,' 'important,' 'expect,' 'accelerate,' 'positively impact,' 'ongoing efforts,' 'level the playing field,' 'increasing,' 'surest way,' 'most economical,' 'additional,' 'broader,' 'critical,' 'help reduce,' and other similar words or phrases. Forward looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning: the importance of critical minerals including battery-grade graphite; establishing a graphite industry in the U.S.; tariffs associated with the importation of natural graphite into the U.S. including the percentage of those tariffs and the countries for which tariffs will apply; the Company's business plans for its Kellyton Graphite Processing Plant; and efforts to manage existing off-take agreements or to put new supply agreements into place for the products from that Plant. The Company cautions that there are factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information that has been provided. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is not a guarantee of future performance and is subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of the Company; accordingly, there can be no assurance that such suggested results will be realized. Those uncertainties and other factors are discussed in Westwater's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and subsequent securities filings, and they could cause actual results to differ materially from management expectations. Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Article content Article content
Forbes
27-05-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Tariff Effects Look To Spark Tough Summer
After an initial rush to purchase vehicles before import tariffs kicked in, the sales rate has ... More slowed and prices are likely to increase. It was all going so well. Sales for both new and used vehicles were already skipping along at a brisk pace. After Pres. Trump announced tariffs on imported vehicles sales then accelerated into overdrive when consumers stormed showrooms to avoid the expected price hikes. But as British troubadours Chad and Jeremy sang long ago, that was yesterday, and yesterday's gone. Cox Automotive senior economist Charlie Chesbrough briefing media on market conditions during an ... More event at the Manheim Detroit wholesale vehicle auction facility on May 22, 2025. 'It's really tomorrow that we're worried about, and that's because these tariffs are really going to start to have an impact on the market here over the next couple of months,' said Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist at Cox Automotive, during a media event at the company's Manheim Detroit wholesale auto auction facility. 'We think that there's going to be a situation where the selling pace of both the new and the used market is likely to shift into a slower pace here over the summer months, as high vehicle prices start to hit the market.' The rush to score deals before the tariffs kicked in led to the seasonally-adjusted sales rate for new vehicles to jump to 17.8 million vehicles in March, and 17.3 million in April, according to Cox research. That squares with research from J.D. Power showing in March and April, approximately 149,000 extra vehicles were sold due to buyers re-timing their purchases on the expectation of significant future price increases. 'These re-timed sales will present a headwind to the industry sales pace for the balance of this year,' wrote Thomas King, president of the data and analytics division at J.D. Power. 'Despite this effect, retail demand for new vehicles remains robust, with retail sales expected to increase 1.1% over a year ago.' Used car sales saw a similar surge, although Chesbrough points out that's more typical of the spring selling season when consumers receive their tax refunds. In both cases, however, the buying frenzy has led to thinner inventories, meaning fewer discounts and higher prices, bad news at a time when vehicle affordability was just starting to attenuate from record highs. 'We actually went through a period where prices were contracting for quite a time in the new vehicle market,' pointed out Chesbrough. 'But now you can see they're starting to rise again, and with these tariffs coming in over the course of the summer, that's going to put even more pressure on these prices and in the used vehicle markets, a similar story as well.' Prices for used vehicles are starting to increase due to lean inventories of trade-ins and vehicles ... More coming off-lease. The average transaction price for new vehicles rose 1% last month from a year ago and about $1,000 from March to about $48,700. For used vehicles, the ATP stood at $25,547, down from the peaks during the days of lean inventories caused by Covid-era production slowdowns, according to Cox research. The numbers from J.D. Power differ slightly, but not the trend. 'The average used-vehicle price is trending towards $29,168, up $130 from a year ago,' wrote King. 'This reflects the combination of reduced supply of recent model-year used vehicles—due to lower new-vehicle production during the pandemic—fewer lease maturities and manufacturers moderating discounts.' But in both cases, consumers' budgets are likely to be further challenged as we head into the summer. 'Our expectation is over the course of the summer, those prices are going to rise even more quickly,' predicted Chesbrough. Auction lanes at Manheim Detroit where used vehicles are sold to dealers. Stark evidence of price increases for used vehicles is seen at the sprawling Manheim Detroit facility and the other Manheim sites, where dealers bid on vehicles to fill their lots through both online and in-person auctions. The selling price at those auctions rose an average of about 4.9% in April with the largest increase of 5.5%, according to Chesbrough. That includes the full breadth of body styles for internal combustion engine and electric vehicles. Propping up used vehicle values is the dearth of trade-ins and turned-in lease vehicles caused by the Covid-era production and sales slump. But with both the sales and leasing pace seeing sharp increases since then, the supply of used vehicles coming to auction is expected to surge in the next couple of years, but with a distinct change in category. With battery electric and hybrid vehicles leasing at more than a 50% rate the last few years, Chesbrough expects 'We're going to see a whole bunch of those electric vehicles coming to auction. In fact, about 500,000 are expected in 2027.' Consumer sentiment is at its lowest point since the Great Recession in June, 2022, according to the ... More University of Michigan. But in the near-term, despite some automakers vowing to absorb the costs of import tariffs, eschewing price increases, the combination of the levies and the overall state of the economy has consumer confidence as its lowest point since June of 2022 during the Great Recession, according to the University of Michigan consumer sentiment study. 'We were recovering,' said Chesbrough. 'But then once we got past the election and Trump started talking about these tariffs, we've fallen off a cliff since last December. The concern is that when you have consumers in this situation where they're really concerned about the outlook for the U.S. economy, it almost becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. They start pulling back on their consumption.' Indeed the title of another long-ago hit may predict what's up ahead could very well turn out to be a 'Cruel Summer.'
