Latest news with #WallStreetJournal
Mint
5 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
China flexes chokehold on rare-earth magnets as exports plunge in May
China's exports of rare-earth magnets plummeted after it imposed controls on their overseas sale, emphasizing Beijing's dominance of a critical input into electric vehicles and jet fighters that has taken center stage in tensions with the U.S. Total export volumes of rare-earth magnets from China fell 74% in May from a year earlier, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Chinese customs data. That was the biggest percentage decline on record dating back to at least 2012. Exports had fallen 45% in April in year-over-year terms. The 1.2 million kilograms of rare-earth magnets exported in May marked the lowest level since February 2020, during the Covid pandemic. Exports of rare-earth magnets to the U.S. slowed to a trickle, declining 93% in May from a year earlier to roughly 46,000 kilograms. That followed a 59% year-over-year drop in April. The figures released Friday are the first to show the extent to which Beijing's curb on rare-earth magnets further choked off supplies to the world in May, which drew the ire of the Trump administration and brought the two countries back to the negotiation table earlier this month. Beijing on April 4 began requiring licenses for exports of certain rare-earth metals and related products. That included some magnets made with rare-earth metals such as dysprosium and terbium that are essential to making a range of goods. The controls restrict exports to all countries, not just the U.S., but came during one of the most heated periods of the U.S.-China trade conflict, with the two superpowers trading tit-for-tat tariff increases. China's move to restrict rare-earth magnets was felt acutely through the global automotive, electronics and defense industries. China has a near-monopoly on rare earths production. It mines around two-thirds of global rare-earth minerals and processes about 90% of the world's supply. A trade truce between the U.S. and China in Geneva in mid-May in which both sides agreed to reduce tariffs for 90 days was expected to ease the flow of these magnets. But rare-earth exports remained constrained, and U.S. automakers warned they could face production stoppages as a result. The U.S. accused Beijing of slow-walking license approvals. China blamed the Trump administration for breaking the Geneva agreement. That brought trade representatives from the U.S. and China to London this month to get the trade truce back on track. The two countries created a framework to restore the agreement reached in Geneva, subject to final approval from President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The framework is expected to ease curbs on rare-earth exports from China, in exchange for the U.S. relaxing some restrictions on certain exports to China. The deal appears to allow China to keep the export-control system for rare earths in place, which would allow Beijing to curb supplies again in the future. Licenses for U.S. manufacturers to import rare earths from China would have a six-month limit, people familiar with the deal said. A spokesperson for China's Commerce Ministry said Thursday that China has been accelerating its review of rare-earth export license applications and has approved a certain number of compliant applications, without giving specific numbers. JL Mag Rare-Earth, a Chinese supplier of rare earth magnets for Tesla, Bosch, General Motors and others, said in a June 13 analysts call that it has gradually started to obtain export licenses for destinations including the U.S., Europe and Southeast Asia. The company, based in the southeastern province of Jiangxi, has benefited from government grants over the years. Last year, government grants accounted for as much as 45% of JL Mag's net profit, according to its latest annual report. On Thursday, Beijing Zhong Ke San Huan High-Tech, another magnet manufacturer, also announced that it received export licenses for some of its orders. Both JL Mag and Zhong Ke have increased their reliance on overseas buyers in recent years as margins at home dwindle. In 2024, JL Mag and Zhong Ke's overseas sales accounted for roughly 18% and 60%, respectively, of company revenue. Direct exports to the U.S. accounted for less than 10% of revenue at each of the two companies. Chinese customs data released earlier this month showed China's overall export growth slowed last month, with shipments to the U.S. sinking 35% from a year earlier in dollar-denominated terms, the biggest such decline in percentage terms since February 2020. Write to Hannah Miao at and Rebecca Feng at
Wall Street Journal
5 hours ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
China Flexes Chokehold on Rare-Earth Magnets as Exports Plunge in May
China's exports of rare-earth magnets plummeted after it imposed controls on their overseas sale, emphasizing Beijing's dominance of a critical input into electric vehicles and jet fighters that has taken center stage in tensions with the U.S. Total export volumes of rare-earth magnets from China fell 74% in May from a year earlier, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Chinese customs data. That was the biggest percentage decline on record dating back to at least 2012. Exports had fallen 45% in April in year-over-year terms. The 1.2 million kilograms of rare-earth magnets exported in May marked the lowest level since February 2020, during the Covid pandemic.
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trump news at a glance: President mulls whether ‘bunker busters' can destroy Iranian nuclear site
Will he or won't he? That's the question many are asking regarding whether Donald Trump will join Israel's attacks on Iran and take out one of its most difficult targets: the Fordow nuclear enrichment site. But another question has arisen. Can he? Trump signalled on Thursday that he will take two weeks to decide whether or not to strike. Guardian reporting suggests he is not fully convinced the US Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs – better known as 'bunker busters' – will effectively destroy Fordow, built deep into a mountain south of Tehran. That the 13.6-tonne bomb could fall short of that goal is a concern that some military analysts have echoed. But it's a coveted target for Israel, which has already destroyed some of Iran's nuclear capability but lacks the powerful bombs and aircraft to do any real damage to the secretive site. The US is the only country in the world to possess bunker busters and only US aircraft can deliver them. Trump has set a two-week deadline to decide whether the US will join Israel's war with Iran, allowing time to seek a negotiated end to the conflict, the White House has said. The president also denied a report by the Wall Street Journal that he told senior aides he had approved attack plans but was delaying on giving the final order to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear program. The report cited three anonymous officials. Read the full story The Los Angeles Dodgers said they blocked US immigration enforcement agents from accessing the parking lot at Dodger Stadium on Thursday and got into public back-and-forth statements with Ice and the Department of Homeland Security, which denied their agents were ever there. Read the full story The Department of Homeland Security is now requiring lawmakers to provide 72 hours of notice before visiting detention centers, according to new guidance. The guidance comes after a slew of tense visits from Democratic lawmakers to detention centers amid Trump's crackdowns in immigrant communities across the country. Read the full story A federal judge on Thursday blocked Trump's administration from forcing 20 Democratic-led states to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to receive billions of dollars in transportation grant funding. Chief US district judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island, granted the states' request for an injunction barring the Department for Transportation's policy, saying the states were likely to succeed on the merits of some or all of their claims. Read the full story The office of the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, requested 'a passive approach to Juneteenth messaging', according to an exclusive Rolling Stone report citing a Pentagon email. The messaging request for Juneteenth – a federal holiday commemorating when enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free – was transmitted by the Pentagon's office of the chief of public affairs. This office said it was not poised to publish web content related to Juneteenth, Rolling Stone reported. Read the full story Depending on who you ask, between 4 and 6 million people showed up to last weekend's 'No Kings' protests. Now the real number is becoming clearer, with one estimate suggesting that Saturday was among the biggest. Read the full story Karen Bass, a 71-year-old former community organizer, is leading Los Angeles' response to an extraordinary confrontation staged by the federal government, as federal agents have raided workplaces and parking lots, arresting immigrant workers in ways family members have compared to 'kidnappings'. Here's what to know about the mayor of Los Angeles. Read the full story Friends and family of Moises Sotelo, a well-known vineyard manager, say they are 'disappointed and disgusted' after he was detained outside the Oregon church he attends. Brad Lander, the New York mayoral candidate arrested by Ice says 'Trump is looking to stoke conflict, weaponize fear'. What is Donald Trump's plan for Iran? The Guardian's Rachel Leingang and Andrew Roth discuss in the Politics Weekly America podcast. Also, this Today in Focus episode explores what Israel's new war means for Gaza. Catching up? Here's what happened on 18 June 2025.
Hans India
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Trump ready with Iran attack plan?
Washington: US President Donald Trump has approved plans to attack Iran, but has not made a final decision on whether to strike the country. The US President held off from initiating strikes in case Iran agreed to abandon its nuclear programme, a senior intelligence source said. Trump is reportedly considering a US strike on Fordo, an underground uranium enrichment facility in Iran. Senior officials in the United States are getting ready for a possible military strike on Iran in the coming days, according to a Bloomberg report. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected Trump's demand for unconditional surrender, as the US President said his patience had run out. On Wednesday, Trump said, "I may do it, I may not do it", when asked a question about US involvement in Iran. He also repeated his insistence on Iran's unconditional surrender: 'The next week is going to be very big, maybe less than a week.' Khamenei rebuked Trump in recorded speech, saying that "any US military intervention" would be costly and added: "The Iranian nation will not surrender." It was Khamenei's first appearance since Israel launched what it described as pre-emptive strikes on Friday. Trump brushed off the rejection, saying "good luck", but again declined to disclose his plans. "I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," he said. The news of Trump backing strike plans was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Iran's mission to the United Nations mocked Trump in posts on X: "Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance.' "No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House," it added. "The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to 'take out' Iran's supreme leader." Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video that his country's forces were "progressing step by step" towards eliminating threats posed by Iran's nuclear sites and ballistic missile arsenal. "We control the skies over Tehran. We are striking with tremendous force at the regime of the ayatollahs. We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime," he Pete Hegseth, Trump's defence secretary, told a Senate committee that the Pentagon was prepared to execute any order given by Trump. His comments came amid a build-up of American forces in the Middle East. A carrier strike group led by the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier was steaming from south-east Asia to join another strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson, already in the Gulf. Various air assets including refuelling tankers were also seen on flight trackers moving from Europe, with reports of F-22 and F-35 strike aircraft following. The US State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio would meet UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Washington DC on Thursday, for talks expected to focus on Iran. So far, the US has not made a formal request to use the UK's military bases in Diego Garcia or Cyprus to conduct strikes against Iran. Normally, the US would first inform its ally if it intended to conduct offensive operations from those bases. A British source said it was believed "all options" were on the table in Washington but there was no complete picture of America's intent. The US embassy in Jerusalem on Wednesday issued an evacuation plan for American citizens currently in Israel. It was unclear how many Americans were seeking to leave Israel or whether the US military would assist with the evacuation flights.
Bloomberg
11 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Home Depot Seeks to Buy GMS in Challenge to QXO Bid, WSJ Says
Home Depot Inc. has made an offer for GMS Inc., potentially setting off a bidding war with QXO Inc. which this week made a $5 billion offer for the building-products distributor, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The offer from Home Depot, the world's largest home-improvement retailer, is for an undetermined sum, the Journal said, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
