The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has positively affected the automotive sector in the four years since its implementation and automakers are increasingly investing in zero-emission and hybrid vehicles, according to the US Trade Representative (USTR)

Heightened price volatility observed in many energy metals underpinning the energy transition, including lithium and cobalt, has encouraged the deployment of a variety of hedging strategies, including the increased use of financial tools, industry participants have told Fastmarkets.

German chemical producer BASF announced on Monday June 24 that it will exit a $2.6 billion investment in a nickel-cobalt refining project in Weda Bay, Indonesia due to significant changes in the nickel market since the inception of the project

Mexican secondary aluminium alloy smelter and distributor of primary metals ARZYZ Metals expects that the company’s new project to produce domestic flat-rolled products (FRP) will reduce Mexico's dependence on imports, a press officer told Fastmarkets on Monday June 24

The German auto-manufacturer BMW opened its first press shop in North America at its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where it will produce the exterior for its X3 model, the company announced on Friday June 21

Chinese authorities are in the process of considering relaxing restrictions on the import of some specifications of black mass to the country, sources said

Aluminium and lithium market participants told Fastmarkets the European Commission’s provisional additional duties on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) are supportive for production but they were not convinced they would be enough to reverse the fortunes of the weakening domestic European auto market

The European Union announced on Wednesday June 12 that it will impose additional tariffs of up to 38.1% on electric vehicles (EVs) imported from China from July 4.

Read more from senior analyst Andy Farida on how the price action in LME nickel has played out in the first half of 2024

Interest in recycling battery raw materials in the US has increased, particularly from the electronics and lithium-ion battery sectors, and due in part to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), according to New York-based Glencore trader Mary Schilling.