2025-06-26 23:29
China had committed to removing non-tariff countermeasures in May talks China's dual-use restrictions slow rare earth licensing process Trump says there might be a separate deal with India WASHINGTON, June 26 (Reuters) - The United States has reached an agreement with China on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the U.S., a White House official said on Thursday, amid efforts to end a trade war between the world's biggest economies. President Donald Trump earlier said the United States had signed a deal with China on Wednesday, without providing additional details, and that there might be a separate deal coming up that would "open up" India. Sign up here. During U.S.-China trade talks in May in Geneva, Beijing committed to removing non-tariff countermeasures imposed against the United States since April 2, although it was unclear how some of those measures would be walked back. As part of its retaliation against new U.S. tariffs, China suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets, upending the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. "The administration and China agreed to an additional understanding for a framework to implement the Geneva agreement," a White House official said on Thursday. The understanding is "about how we can implement expediting rare earths shipments to the U.S. again", the official said. A separate administration official said the U.S.-China agreement took place earlier this week. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was quoted as saying by Bloomberg: "They're going to deliver rare earths to us" and once they do that "we'll take down our countermeasures." On Friday, China's commerce ministry said the two countries recently confirmed details on the framework of implementing the Geneva trade talks consensus. It said China will approve export applications of controlled items in accordance with the law. It did not mention rare earths. While the agreement shows potential progress following months of trade uncertainty and disruption since Trump took office in January, it also underscores the long road ahead to a final, definitive trade deal between the two economic rivals. China has been taking its dual-use restrictions on rare earths "very seriously" and has been vetting buyers to ensure that materials are not diverted to U.S. military uses, according to an industry source. This has slowed down the licensing process. The Geneva deal had faltered over China's curbs on critical minerals exports, prompting the Trump administration to respond with export controls of its own preventing shipments of semiconductor design software, aircraft and other goods to China. In early June, Reuters reported China had granted temporary export licenses to rare-earth suppliers of the top three U.S. automakers, according to two sources familiar with the matter, as supply chain disruptions began to surface from export curbs on those materials. Later in the month, Trump said there was a deal with China in which Beijing would supply magnets and rare earth minerals while the U.S. would allow Chinese students in its colleges and universities. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-says-deal-related-trade-was-signed-with-china-wednesday-2025-06-26/
2025-06-26 22:37
Peace deal expected to be signed in Washington on Friday Sources say agreement aims to secure Rwanda's gradual withdrawal US seeks end to conflict, access to critical minerals June 26 (Reuters) - Congolese negotiators have dropped a demand that Rwandan troops immediately leave eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, paving the way for a U.S.-brokered peace agreement to be signed between the longtime foes on Friday, four sources told Reuters. Rwanda has sent at least 7,000 soldiers over the border, according to analysts and diplomats, in support of the M23 rebels, who seized eastern Congo's two largest cities and lucrative mining areas in a lightning advance earlier this year. Sign up here. Rwanda has long denied providing arms and troops to M23 and says it is acting in self-defence. Congolese and Rwandan officials are expected to sign a peace deal in Washington on Friday following a diplomatic push by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to end years of conflict with roots in Rwanda's 1994 genocide. The agreement also aims to attract Western investment to the two countries' mining sectors, which boast deposits of tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium, while giving the U.S. access to critical minerals. Sources told Reuters earlier this month that Washington was pushing for Rwanda to withdraw its troops before the deal's signing, a pre-condition that was also included in a U.S.-prepared draft authenticated by diplomats. But that timeline was certain to face resistance from Rwanda. Kigali considers Congo-based armed groups an existential threat, particularly the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which includes remnants of Rwanda's former army and militias that carried out the genocide. Three sources told Reuters that the new version of the agreement aims to obtain the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from eastern Congo over several months, while two of them said the withdrawal would be conditioned on operations against the FDLR. The sources - three diplomats and a Congolese official - asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the talks. Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told Reuters on Thursday that under the agreement the "lifting of defensive measures in our border area" would be contingent upon the FDLR's "neutralisation". Tina Salama, spokesperson for Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, told Reuters that Kinshasa was intent on securing the "disengagement or total withdrawal" of Rwandan forces from Congolese territory. A State Department spokesperson said it did not comment on ongoing diplomatic negotiations. It remains unclear how far the agreement to be signed on Friday will advance beyond a declaration of principles agreed in April. Technical experts from the two countries initialed a draft peace agreement last week, saying it addressed issues related to territorial integrity, "a prohibition of hostilities" and the disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration of non-state armed groups. It also referred to a mechanism agreed as part of an earlier Angolan-backed peace effort to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers and Congolese military operations targeting the FDLR. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/congo-drops-demand-immediate-rwandan-troop-pullout-sources-say-2025-06-26/
2025-06-26 22:08
HOUSTON, June 26 (Reuters) - Ethane traders Satellite Chemical USA and Vinmar International have received U.S. government letters allowing them to load ethane on vessels destined for China but prohibiting unloading ethane in China without authorization, sources familiar with the matter said. The letters received Wednesday from the U.S. Department of Commerce follow a licensing requirement imposed several weeks ago on ethane exports to China, stalling shipments and leading vessels to drift or anchor around the U.S. Gulf Coast. Sign up here. The letter could be perceived as the administration preparing to lift the restriction, industry sources and analysts said. Even so, there would likely still be some reluctance to load ethane - which is extracted from U.S. shale gas and primarily used as a petrochemical feedstock - as China-bound vessels could be stuck in limbo depending on how long the full-path restriction plays out, said AJ O'Donnell, an analyst at Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. The U.S. also sent similar letters to Enterprise Products Partners (EPD.N) , opens new tab and Energy Transfer (ET.N) , opens new tab on Wednesday, Reuters reported exclusively. China's Satellite Chemical Co Ltd (002648.SZ) , opens new tab, the parent of Satellite Chemical USA, and Vinmar declined to comment. Around half of all U.S. ethane exports head to China, and the halt in flows has pushed ethane prices lower on worries of domestic oversupply. The restrictions are likely to cut into profits of top ethane producers. Supertanker Gas Bluebonnet loaded for China's Satellite Chemicals at Energy Transfer's Nederland facility in Texas on June 12 and was near the Panama Canal on Thursday, ship tracking data on LSEG and Kpler showed. At least nine other tankers were drifting or anchored along the U.S. Gulf, while two were moored at loading docks. In the near term, export terminal operators such as Energy Transfer and Enterprise could benefit as they can push their buyers to load at the docks, industry sources said. Still, Enterprises Morgan Point dock near Houston could see lower volumes as a result of the ethane restrictions, Tudor Pickering Holt & Co's O'Donnell said. Chinese petrochemical firms use ethane, extracted from natural gas, as a feedstock because it is a cheaper alternative than naphtha, while U.S. oil and gas producers need China to buy their natural gas liquids as domestic supply exceeds demand. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/satellite-chemical-vinmar-get-us-govt-letters-preventing-ethane-unloading-china-2025-06-26/
2025-06-26 22:05
PARIS, June 26 (Reuters) - The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global financial crime watchdog, on Thursday called on countries to take stronger action to combat illicit finance in crypto assets, warning that gaps in regulation could have global repercussions. The Paris-based watchdog said that while progress has been made since 2024 in regulating virtual assets, many jurisdictions still have work to do to combat risks. Sign up here. As of April 2025, only 40 of 138 jurisdictions assessed were "largely compliant" with FATF's crypto standards, up from 32 a year earlier. "With virtual assets inherently borderless, regulatory failures in one jurisdiction can have global consequences," FATF said in a statement. Illicit crypto wallet addresses may have received up to $51 billion in 2024, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. FATF said that countries continue to face difficulties in identifying who is behind virtual asset transactions. The report is the latest sign of rising concern among financial authorities about crypto-related risks to the financial system. In April, the EU's securities watchdog warned that the expanding crypto sector could pose risks to broader financial stability, especially as links with traditional markets deepen. FATF also raised concerns about the use of stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to fiat currencies, by "various illicit actors", including North Korea, terrorist financiers and drug traffickers. It said most illicit crypto activity now involves stablecoins. The FBI has said that North Korea was responsible for the theft of approximately $1.5 billion worth of virtual assets from crypto exchange ByBit in February - the largest ever crypto theft. North Korea’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not respond to a request for comment. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/global-financial-crime-watchdog-calls-action-crypto-risks-2025-06-26/
2025-06-26 21:41
LONDON/NEW YORK, June 26 - Two Canadian pension funds have halted a long-running auction for renewable energy developer Cubico Sustainable Investments that they had hoped could be valued at more than $6 billion, including debt, three people familiar with the matter said. The Montreal-based Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP) and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) decided to explore a sale of the company that operates wind and solar farms across Europe, North and South America and Australia, nearly two years ago, when low-carbon energy companies were enjoying a period of rising valuations. Sign up here. However, the offers made were not enough to persuade the shareholders to agree to a sale, two of the people said. The process was not expected to restart imminently, one of the people and a third one said. Some bidders valued Cubico at around 5 billion euros ($5.9 billion) including debt, two of the sources said. Spanish infrastructure fund Qualitas Energy and KKR-backed power producer ContourGlobal were among the parties interested, the people said. Cubico, PSP, Qualitas, ContourGlobal and OTPP declined to comment. A representative for KKR had no immediate comment. Some investor interest in the sector has waned, especially in the United States, due in part to a rush for more power sources, including polluting ones, to meet soaring power demand for artificial intelligence projects, and Donald Trump's continued support for fossil fuels on his return to office. The owners originally expected the sale to fetch a valuation, including debt, of around 10 times Cubico's 2023 earnings of $625 million before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, Reuters reported previously. The process had attracted interest from at least one corporate utility as well as financial firms betting that clean power companies would become more valuable as governments pushed to reduce planet-warming emissions. Bankers were hoping Trump's drive to loosen regulations would drive a deals boom, but market volatility and geopolitical concerns have hampered some activity so far. Counting all its concentrated solar power and transmission line technology, Cubico has a total 2.8 gigawatts of generation capacity. It was formed in 2015 when the two funds partnered with Banco Santander. They bought equal shares of the Spanish bank's stake in 2016. ($1 = 0.8538 euros) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/canadian-funds-shelve-6-billion-sale-renewables-company-cubico-sources-say-2025-06-26/
2025-06-26 21:16
June 26 (Reuters) - Energy and industrial products supplier DNOW (DNOW.N) , opens new tab said on Thursday it would buy MRC Global (MRC.N) , opens new tab in an all-stock deal valued at $1.5 billion, including debt. The combined company will operate over 350 service and distribution locations in more than 20 countries, serving customers across the upstream, midstream, downstream, gas utility, and broader industrial sectors. Sign up here. The deal adds to the ongoing consolidation in the oilfield services and industrial supply sector, as companies combine to expand geographic reach, broaden product offerings and improve operational efficiency. MRC Global is a distributor of pipe, valves, fittings, and automation products, primarily serving the energy, gas utility and industrial markets. Under the terms of the deal, MRC Global shareholders will receive 0.9489 of DNOW shares for each MRC share, giving the deal per share value of $13.85 and representing a premium of 6.8%, according to Reuters calculation. MRC shares rose 14% in extended trade, while DNOW also gained 1.9%. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, upon which, DNOW shareholders will own about 56.5% of the new company, while MRC shareholders will hold 43.5%. The companies expect the deal to generate $70 million in annual cost savings within three years, driven by supply chain efficiencies, systems integration and public company cost savings. The deal is also expected to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share in the first year after closing. DNOW CEO David Cherechinsky will lead the combined company, which will continue to operate under the DNOW name and remain headquartered in Houston, Texas. Two MRC Global board members will join DNOW's board, expanding it to 10 directors. https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/dnow-acquire-mrc-global-15-billion-all-stock-deal-2025-06-26/
