Geology not ideology: Why collaboration is key in the critical minerals supply chain

Steel imports into Brazil are expected to decline further as Chinese tax changes and weak domestic demand weigh on the market. With interest rates at two-decade highs, both imports and local production are under pressure, though 2026 could bring short-term recovery tied to election-year stimulus.

Mexico will impose tariffs on around 1,400 imported products from countries with which it does not have a trade agreement, according to Mexican government officials, in a move that industry sources say signals alignment with the US but could have “mixed effects” for the steel industry.

The Mexican aluminium industry is navigating trade challenges as it seeks closer alignment with the US while reducing dependence on China, amid rising scrap prices, proposed tariffs and ongoing pricing uncertainty.

Chinese zinc smelters rejected Teck Resources’ proposal that they absorb the cost of a 10% reciprocal tariff against the US on the Canadian miner’s shipments of zinc concentrates from its Red Dog mine in Alaska, sources told Fastmarkets, highlighting the challenges producers are navigating as geopolitical risks rise.

Aluminium producers in other countries are increasingly viewing Brazil as an alternative market because of the growing difficulties in accessing the markets in the US because of that country’s import tariffs, market participants said in the week to Thursday August 28.

Vietnam and Brazil were the most impacted by the US Department of Commerce’s final affirmative determination in the anti-dumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) from ten countries.

The US is launching its first Strategic Minerals Reserve at Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada, designed as a platform for storage, refining and recycling to strengthen supply chain security.

The US is confronting a copper supply shortfall, but one company believes that it already holds the key to unlocking hundreds of thousands of tonnes of refined copper – right here, right now.

When the US opted not to impose Section 232 tariffs on copper cathode imports last month, the market breathed a sigh of relief.