Beijing, Nov 7, 2025 – China has begun designing a new rare earth licensing regime that could speed up shipments, but it is unlikely to amount to a complete rollback of restrictions as hoped by Washington, industry insiders said. The Ministry of Commerce told some rare earth exporters they will be able to apply for new streamlined permits in the future and in industry briefings outlined the documents that will be required, two sources familiar with the matter said. The export curbs have become Beijing’s most potent source of leverage …
A Trump Supreme Court tariff defeat would add to trade uncertainty
Washington, Nov. 7, 2025 – The U.S. Supreme Court’s tough questioning of President Donald Trump’s global tariffs fueled increased speculation that they will be struck down, but raised the specter of additional chaos as he is widely expected to shift to other trade tactics in the wake of an adverse ruling. On Wednesday during oral arguments, Supreme Court justices cast doubt on Trump’s authority to impose tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which contains no references to tariffs – only language on regulating imports during …
China’s exports continue to grow in spite Trump’s tariffs
New York, Nov. 4, 2025 – As President Trump has imposed steep tariffs on China, American importers are buying much less. But the rest of the world is making up the difference, buying more from China than ever. China has offset the decline from America with breathtaking speed. Shipments to other parts of the world have surged this year, demonstrating that China’s manufacturing dominance will not be easily slowed. Chinese exports are on track to reach another record this year. That’s because China was prepared. It has been seeking …
Oil prices rise after US, China reach trade-deal framework
London, Oct 27 (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Monday after U.S. and Chinese economic officials sketched out a trade-deal framework, easing fears that tariffs and export curbs between the world’s top two oil consumers could dent global economic growth. Brent crude futures rose 47 cents, or 0.71%, to $66.41 a barrel by 0629 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 44 cents, or 0.72%, to $61.94, after rising 8.9% and 7.7%, respectively, in the previous week on U.S. and EU sanctions on Russia. Haitong Securities said in …
Trade with Africa not a game of Minecraft – Tuggar
Abu Dhabi, Oct. 22, 2025 – Rich countries should not approach trade with Africa as a game of Minecraft in which they secure supplies of natural resources, but rather as a relationship based on mutual respect and the need for Africa to develop, Nigeria’s foreign minister said. Yusuf Tuggar also said that Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and a crude oil exporter with chronic problems such as a huge power deficit, was less affected by U.S. trade tariffs than other countries due to its scale and its other trading …
China hits back at US on shipping with Hanwha curbs, probe
Washington, Oct. 14, 2025 – China has threatened further retaliatory measures against US curbs on its shipping sector, after sanctioning American entities of a South Korean shipping giant. The Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday it was placing limits on five US entities of Hanwha Ocean Co., one of South Korea’s biggest shipbuilders. The company’s shares dipped as much as 8% in Seoul, their biggest decline in about two months. The moves are a marked escalation in a long-standing dispute between the world’s two largest economies over maritime dominance. It …
OPEC+ plus to raise oil production by 137,000 barrels a day in November
London, Oct. 6, 2025 – Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other members of (OPEC+) on Sunday decided to raise their production quotas by 137,000 barrels per day in November, as they continue to push for greater market share. “In view of a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories, the eight participating countries decided to implement a production adjustment of 137 thousand barrels per day” from October’s levels, the group said in a statement after an on-line meeting. The increase …
Trump Tariffs’ Boomerang: U.S. prices climb on imported goods
Washington, Oct. 6, 2025 – The impact of the large-scale import tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump has begun to appear in U.S. prices, particularly across a wide range of imported goods from soup cans to auto parts, the British daily Financial Times, FT, has reported. This is attributed to companies that had been holding inventory absorbing the cost increases from tariffs no longer being able to withstand the burden and beginning to pass it on to consumers. “The effect of the Trump tariffs is beginning to show …
Africa’s trade dream endures – Prof. Oramah
By Ebenezer Chike Adjei NJOKU & Solange BANSON Accra, Oct. 3, 2025 – Professor Benedict Oramah, outgoing president and chairman of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has declared that Africa’s trade and integration project remains alive and thriving despite persistent structural and financial challenges across the continent. Delivering his farewell lecture at the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra, Prof. Oramah argued that trade finance has become the African Continental Free Trade Area’s (AfCFTA) lifeblood – bridging the gap between high-level treaties and day-to-day business transactions. “The nexus between trade finance, …
AfCFTA signals new chapter for Intra-African trade, tourism development – Nketia
Accra, Oct. 2, 2025 – Alexander Kwame Nketia, Member, AfCFTA Committee on Trade in Services, says the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) represents a bold and transformative leap towards achieving Africa’s long-sought economic sovereignty and sustainable growth. He said the agreement was far more than a trade deal, but a historic catalyst for deeper integration, tourism promotion, and job creation across the continent. “AfCFTA is a strategic reset, a recalibration of Africa’s trade priorities to favour internal growth. With it, we are creating not just a market, but …