2024-06-29 14:49

BEIJING, June 29 (Reuters) - China has unveiled a list of rare earth regulations aimed at protecting supplies in the name of national security, laying out rules on the mining, smelting and trade in the critical materials used to make products from magnets in electric vehicles to consumer electronics. The regulations, issued by the State Council or cabinet on Saturday, say rare earth resources belong to the state, and that the government will oversee the development of the industry around rare earths - a group of 17 minerals of which China has in recent years become the world's dominant producer, accounting for nearly 90% of global refined output. Their global industrial significance is such that under a law that entered into force in May the EU set ambitious 2030 targets for domestic production of minerals crucial in the green transition - particularly rare earths due to their use in permanent magnets that power motors in EVs and wind energy. EU demand is forecast to soar sixfold in the decade to 2030 and sevenfold by 2050. The new Chinese regulations, which will take effect on Oct. 1, say the State Council will establish a rare earth product traceability information system. Enterprises in rare earth mining, smelting and separation, and the export of rare earth products, shall establish a product flow record system, shall "truthfully" record the flow, and shall enter it into the traceability system, the State Council said. China already last year introduced restrictions on exports of the elements germanium and gallium, used widely in the chip-making sector, citing the need to protect national security and interests. It also banned the export of technology to make rare earth magnets, in addition to imposing a ban on technology to extract and separate rare earths. Those rules fanned fears that restrictions in rare earth supplies might help increase tensions with the West, particularly the United States, which accuses China of using economic coercion to influence other countries. Beijing denies the claim. China's rare earths regulations also come as the EU gears up to impose provisional tariffs on Chinese EVs on July 4 to protect the 27-state bloc from what it says is a flood of EVs produced with unfair state subsidies, though both sides have said they plan talks on the proposed tariffs. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/china-issues-rare-earth-regulations-further-protect-domestic-supply-2024-06-29/

2024-06-29 14:03

June 29 (Reuters) - A federal judge ruled late Friday that the majority of a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, can proceed. The decision by Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia deals a blow to Binance, which had asked the court to toss the SEC's lawsuit that alleges Binance and its founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao broke securities laws. The SEC's suit filed against Binance in June 2023 accused the exchange and Zhao of artificially inflating its trading volumes, diverting customer funds, failing to restrict U.S. customers from its platform and misleading investors about its market surveillance controls. The regulator also accused Binance of unlawfully facilitating trading of several crypto tokens the SEC deemed unregistered securities. The ruling adds to the exchange's woes after Binance agreed in November to pay $4.3 billion to settle with the Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over illicit finance breaches. Still, Friday’s ruling marks a partial victory for the broader cryptocurrency sector as she sided with a previous judge in saying that the SEC had not made its case that secondary sales of Binance’s tokens – sold by sellers other than Binance on exchanges- were not securities. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/binance-must-face-bulk-us-sec-crypto-lawsuit-judge-rules-2024-06-29/

2024-06-29 09:26

NEW DELHI, June 29 (Reuters) - India's steel and trade ministries are in talks over rising imports, particularly cheap Chinese goods, a government source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Saturday, amid persistent calls for higher tariffs from top producers. India turned net steel importer in the fiscal year that ended in March and the trend continues with its finished steel imports scaling a five-year high in April and May, according to provisional government data. India imported 1.1 million metric tons of finished steel between April and May, up 19.8% from a year earlier. "The steel ministry has apprised the commerce ministry on rising imports and industry has sought a probe," the source said, declining to be identified as discussions are not public. India is monitoring cheap Chinese imports, the source said, as China continues to be top exporter of steel to the Asia's third-largest economy in recent months. Major Indian steel producers such as Tata Steel (TISC.NS) New Tab, opens new tab have flagged Chinese imports as a "growing concern." India's steel mills, alarmed by a sharp rise in imports, have repeatedly called for government interventions and higher import taxes. However, the federal Ministry of Steel has resisted such calls, citing strong local demand. Earlier on Saturday, a senior executive at ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (ESRG.UL) said the government should consider raising the basic customs duty on steel to 12.5% from 7.5% due to surging imports. "Immediately, we should go back to 12.5% duty regime, which was there earlier," said Ranjan Dhar, director and vice president, sales and marketing, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/india-steel-trade-ministries-talks-over-rising-chinese-imports-says-source-2024-06-29/

2024-06-29 06:26

KATHMANDU, June 29 (Reuters) - At least nine people, including three children, were killed after heavy monsoon rains in west Nepal triggered landslides, an official said on Saturday. Five members of a family were sleeping when their house was washed away by a landslide in Malika village in Gulmi district, about 250 km (156 miles) west of Kathmandu, according to Dizan Bhattarai, a spokesman for the National Disaster Rescue and Reduction Management Authority. “Bodies of all five have been recovered,” Bhattarai told Reuters, adding that the family included two children. In neighbouring Syangja district, one woman and her three year old daughter died in a landslide that swept away their house, while in Baglung district, which borders Gulmi, two people were killed in another landslide. At least 35 people across Nepal have died in landslides, floods and lightning strikes since mid-June when annual monsoon rains started. Rains normally continue until mid-September. Landslides and flash floods are common in mostly mountainous Nepal during the monsoon season and kill hundreds of people every year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nepal-landslides-kill-nine-including-3-children-2024-06-29/

2024-06-29 03:07

BEIJING, June 28 (Reuters) - China and Peru have achieved "substantial conclusion of negotiations" on the upgrading of a free trade agreement between both countries, Chinese state media said on Friday. In a meeting with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte in Beijing, President Xi Jinping said both sides should coordinate and promote cooperation in fields such as minerals, energy, manufacturing, agriculture and others, state broadcaster CCTV said. Peru and China signed a free trade agreement in 2009, which helped the South American nation boost its exports. Peru's press office reported that Boluarte and Xi also signed a series of agreements to strengthen ties, including one on Peruvian grape exports to China, and a memorandum of understanding establishing a Peruvian-Chinese Business Council. China is Peru's top investor and the top market for copper from Peru, the world's third largest producer of the red metal. "China's interest in key sectors of the Peruvian economy, such as mining, infrastructure and energy, is fundamental to national development plans, while ongoing investments are a source of employment and a promise of progress," Boluarte said in a statement from her office. Visiting China this week, Boluarte has met with executives from several companies as well as Xi, who she invited to inaugurate in November the Chancay "megaport" being built on Peru's coast by Chinese company Cosco Shipping (1199.HK) New Tab, opens new tab. Xi is expected to travel to Peru in November for the summit of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a bloc that accounts for almost half of world trade. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-peru-completed-substantial-negotiations-upgrade-fta-2024-06-29/

2024-06-29 01:07

Mauritania's Ghazouani faces six challengers Incumbent is widely expected to win in first round Full provisional results likely on Sunday NOUAKCHOTT, June 29 (Reuters) - Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani opened an early lead as vote-counting was underway after Saturday's presidential election, provisional results from the country's electoral commission showed. Ghazouani was leading with 49%, while his main rival, prominent anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, was at 22.68%, with around 6.49% of total votes counted, or 283 polling stations reporting out of 4,503 by 0010 GMT. Ghazouani, 67, a former top soldier who is widely expected to win, has pledged to boost investment to spur a commodities boom in the West African country of 5 million people, as it prepares to start producing natural gas. "The last word belongs to the Mauritanian voters. I commit myself to respecting their choice," Ghazouani said after he voted in the capital early on Saturday. Elected for a first term in 2019, Ghazouani is facing a field of six opponents, among them Abeid, who came second in 2019 with over 18% of the vote. Other challengers include lawyer Id Mohameden M'Bareck, economist Mohamed Lemine El Mourtaji El Wafi, and Hamadi Sidi El Mokhtar of the Islamist Tewassoul party. Casting his ballot soon after polls opened in the capital Nouakchott, 39-year-old geographer Mohamed Cheikh Hadrami said he had voted for a candidate "who will be able to reconcile Mauritanians". He declined to say who he had voted for. Some 2 million people were registered to vote, with major election issues including fighting corruption and creating jobs for the young. If re-elected, Ghazouani has promised a natural gas-fired power plant from the Greater Tortue Ahmeyin offshore gas project, which is on track to start production by the end of the year. He has also pledged to invest in renewable energy and expand gold, uranium and iron-ore mining. Ghazouani has presided with relative stability since 2019, while Mauritania's Sahel neighbours, including Mali, struggle with Islamist insurgencies that have led to military coups. Mauritania has not recorded a militant attack on its soil in recent years and Ghazouani, who chairs the African Union, has promised to manage Islamist threats. Abeid is challenging Ghazouani on his human rights record and the marginalisation of Mauritania's Black African population, while El Mokhtar has a following among conservative and religious voters. "President Ghazouani will likely win the vote in the first round," said Mucahid Durmaz, senior West Africa analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft. "The president's re-election bid has been boosted by the ruling party's landslide victory in legislative elections last year," he added. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the election will go to a second round. In the last election, some opposition candidates questioned the credibility of the vote, sparking small-scale protests. "Everything indicates that people want change. I will have no problem recognising the results of a transparent election, but in case of fraud we'll not hesitate to call it a rigged election," El Mokhtar said after voting. El Mokhtar was third with 14.42% of the vote, according to the provisional results on Saturday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/mauritanians-go-polls-ghazouani-seeks-re-election-2024-06-29/