2025-04-23 17:30

WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves announced steps on Wednesday to prevent the dumping of goods with unfairly low prices into the country which could surge as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump's sky-high tariff on imports from China. Reeves, who wants to smooth the way for trade deals with the United States and other countries during a visit to Washington this week, said she would help retailers and other businesses who worry about the risk of cut-price competition, much of it from China, as the world's trade system is overhauled. Sign up here. "This government is meeting the moment to protect fair and open trade," Reeves said in a statement. "Today's package will help businesses compete fairly with international exporters, supporting a world economy that provides stability and fairness for working people and businesses alike."  Britain's government will review the customs treatment of low-value imports which allows goods valued at 135 pounds ($179.66) or less to be imported without paying customs duty, a system that some retailers say puts them at a disadvantage. Some British retailers have called for the loophole to be scrapped, saying e-commerce platforms like China's fast fashion group Shein are benefitting unfairly. In the U.S., as well as pushing import tariffs for Chinese goods to 145% this month, Trump has closed a trade loophole that allowed low-value packages from China and Hong Kong to enter the United States free of duties. Both measures could lead to exports from China which are no longer able to enter the U.S. being diverted to markets in Europe and elsewhere, pushing down prices. The UK finance ministry said other new measures included increased support for businesses seeking to report unfair trade practices, better monitoring of trade data and an acceleration of measures to prevent import surges. Britain's anti-dumping office - which was set up after the country left the European Union - will focus more of its work on helping small and medium sized companies to show evidence of unfair trade practices and speed up investigations. The measures might also win favour within the Trump administration which has ratcheted up trade pressure on China. Beijing on Monday warned countries against striking economic deals with the United States at China's expense. A group representing British retailers welcomed the announcement of the review into the customs treatment of low-value imports and said speed was of the essence. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said action had long been needed and "with retailers seeing a rise in the number of potentially non-compliant products entering the UK market, it's even more critical now." ($1 = 0.7514 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/uk-moves-protect-businesses-against-dumped-imports-2025-04-23/

2025-04-23 16:52

NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - Citadel's founder and CEO Kenneth Griffin said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration needs to be careful about potential damage to the creditworthiness of U.S. Treasuries. "We put that brand at risk," he said at a conference hosted by Semafor. "The President, the Secretary of Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce need to be very thoughtful that when you have a brand you need to behave in a way that respects that brand, that strengthens that brand, because when you tarnish that brand, it can be a lifetime to repair the damage that has been done." Sign up here. His comments come after the Treasuries market recently experienced dislocations triggered by tariffs. On the week of April 7, the run-up in yields this week topped the biggest weekly jump since 2001 following a sell-off. Griffin, a Republican supporter who has said he voted for Trump in the November election, said he does not oppose tariffs, but argued the trade war is devolving into a "nonsensical place." "People are not going to build manufacturing in America, because with the policy volatility, you actually undermine the very goal you're trying to achieve," the founder of a multi-billion hedge fund and a market maker added. As Trump's administration approaches its first 100 days, Griffin said he considers the accomplishments so far mixed. While the investor criticized the tariff turmoil, he praised the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) efforts to cut costs as well as immigration policies at the southern border. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/citadels-griffin-says-trump-needs-be-careful-about-treasuries-brand-2025-04-23/

2025-04-23 12:46

HARARE, April 23 (Reuters) - Premier African Minerals (PREM.L) , opens new tab is pursuing a lithium concentrate supply deal with commodities giant Glencore Plc (GLEN.L) , opens new tab, it said on Wednesday, as it seeks to clear debt from an inconclusive offtake agreement. The London-listed Premier operates the Zulu lithium mine in Zimbabwe, where it has missed several production deadlines because of technical problems to bring online a spodumene concentrator. Sign up here. As a result, it owes major shareholder Canmax Technologies (300390.SZ) , opens new tab $35 million plus interest under an offtake prepayment deal. "Premier has entered into a non-binding letter of interest with Glencore International regarding the possible purchase of spodumene concentrate," Premier said in a statement. Glencore declined to comment. If the deal is concluded, Glencore would assist Premier to manage and repay the debt owed to Canmax and other creditors, Premier said. Under the 2022 offtake deal, Canmax, the single largest shareholder in Premier with a 13% stake, would get 50,000 metric tons of spodumene concentrate from Zulu annually, starting before the end of May 2023. Premier said it had agreed with Canmax to secure a binding spodumene purchase agreement with Glencore within the next three months. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/premier-african-minerals-seeks-lithium-offtake-deal-with-glencore-2025-04-23/

2025-04-23 12:40

VADODARA/NEW DELHI, April 23 (Reuters) - Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS) , opens new tab, the country's top refiner, plans to operate its Gujarat refinery in western India at an expanded capacity of 360,000 barrels per day (bpd) by mid-2026, executive director Biplob Biswas said on Wednesday. India is expanding its crude refining capacity to meet rising local demand for fuel. Sign up here. IOC is revamping one of the five crude units at the 274,000 bpd refinery in Gujarat to raise overall capacity by 86,000 bpd. "Our expansion is on track for completion by June-July of next year... The project will be completed in two phases," Biswas said during a press conference. The refinery expansion will cost 178.25 billion rupees ($2.09 billion), he said. During the first phase of the expansion, the company will shut down the crude unit and some secondary units for upgrade. The shutdown is expected to be complete by June or July this year. Biswas said the company expects to set up more secondary units, including petrochemical and lube projects, early next year as part of the expansion project and will operate the refinery at higher capacity by the middle of next year. ($1 = 85.3760 Indian rupees) https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-oil-plans-operate-gujarat-refinery-higher-capacity-mid-2026-2025-04-23/

2025-04-23 12:14

Vedanta hires banks to advise on listing copper assets, sources say New York is one option for the listing, sources say Spokesperson says Vedanta considering various financing options JOHANNESBURG, April 23(Reuters) - Vedanta Resources, is considering a U.S. public listing for its Zambian unit Konkola Copper Mines as one of its options to try to raise about $1 billion for mine development, three sources familiar with the details, told Reuters. The miner, owned by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, has hired Barclays and Citigroup to advise on the plans for an initial public offering, said the sources, who declined to be named due to sensitivity around the discussions. Sign up here. Vedanta is considering New York as one of the options to list KCM, as the Zambian unit is known, the sources said. They said the discussions were at an early stage and a timeline had yet to be finalised. A spokesperson for Vedanta Resources declined to comment beyond saying various options were under consideration. "We continue to evaluate a range of financing options, including internal accruals, debt instruments, and equity options, as we invest and grow our operations across the world," the spokesperson said. Citigroup declined to comment, while Barclays did not respond to emailed questions from Reuters. Vedanta has said it wants to raise capital as part of its plans to gradually increase copper output to about 300,000 metric tons per year over the next five years. KCM's output dwindled as Agarwal fought a protracted legal battle to reclaim the assets after former Zambian president Edgar Lungu's administration forced KCM into provisional liquidation. It had accused Vedanta of failing to invest to boost copper production. Agarwal regained control of the copper mines, smelter and refinery last year. Vedanta has since established a U.S.-based entity, Global Transition Resources Inc., which it said in a post on Linkedin produces copper, cobalt and gold in Africa. Reuters could not immediately establish whether Global Transition Resources would be the entity to house the assets in question in the event of a U.S. listing. Copper, with uses from power to construction, is in demand from the electric vehicle sector and new applications such as data centres for artificial intelligence. Vedanta said KCM holds one of the world's highest grade deposits of copper, together with reserves of about 400,000 tons of cobalt, another mineral needed for the transition to cleaner energy. Since recovering the assets from the Zambian government, Vedanta has secured short-term financing and started paying debts to local creditors, including bills for supplies of electricity, which had built up during the period. It also increased spending on the communities surrounding the mines. Vedanta last year attempted to sell a stake to United Arab Emirates-based International Resources Holding (IRH), but the deal collapsed due to valuation differences, Reuters reported. A separate process to sell at least a 30% equity stake in the mines had not been successful, leaving listing as one of the most viable options, one of the sources said. Vedanta Resources, the UK-based parent of Indian miner Vedanta Ltd (VDAN.NS) , opens new tab owns an 80% shareholding in KCM and the Zambian government holds the remaining 20% stake through state investment firm ZCCM-IH (ZCCM.LZ) , opens new tab. Vedanta is splitting its oil-to-metals conglomerate into five separate businesses, with plans to separately list the units. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/vedanta-weighs-us-listing-raise-1-billion-zambian-copper-assets-2025-04-23/

2025-04-23 11:57

ASTANA, April 23 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan will prioritise national interests over those of the OPEC+ group when deciding on oil production levels, the country's newly appointed Energy Minister Erlan Akkenzhenov told Reuters ratcheting up the standoff with the group. Several other members of the OPEC+ group, including top producer Saudi Arabia, have been angered by Kazakhstan's rising output, three OPEC+ sources told Reuters last month. Sign up here. The minister also said the country was not able to reduce oil production at its three large oil-producing projects, as they are controlled by foreign majors. "To act in accordance with national interests. This is a broad formulation, but it completely covers the entire situation that we have now. Act only in accordance with national interests," the minister said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/kazakhstan-says-oil-output-levels-decided-by-national-interest-not-opec-2025-04-23/