BHP has finally confirmed an end to a tense trade standoff with China, ending seven months of negotiations as the Middle Kingdom sought to shift the balance of power with WA iron ore producers.
Daniel Newell
China has freed domestic mills to buy BHP iron ore products, signalling the end of a dispute after a visit to the county by BHP's bosses.
Staff Writers
China’s state-backed iron ore buyer has told several steel mills in the country they are allowed to purchase some BHP cargoes, an apparent concession in a months-long commercial dispute.
Alfred Cang and Katharine Gemmell
The move comes as Iran has blockaded the Strait of Hormuz for weeks during the US-Israeli war with the country, a bottleneck that roiled global markets and strained the economy.
Garrett Downs
The Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked as shipowners try to understand if they can safely transit the vital waterway following a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran.
Weilun Soon, Alex Longley and Julian Lee
China has sought for decades to turn its clout as the world’s largest commodities consumer into pricing power. With iron ore, it is closer than ever to success.
The US will maintain a 50 per cent import tariff on steel, aluminium and copper commodity imports but apply the rate to the prices paid by American customers.
David Lawder
The WTO failed to extend a ban on e-commerce tariffs at its 14th ministerial conference, a setback for an organisation whose mission is under threat from US efforts to impose tariffs on trading partners.
Brendan Murray
Deadlock in the Strait of Hormuz has upended trade between Alcoa’s cyclone-disrupted WA alumina operations and one of the world’s biggest aluminium producers, whose refinery was bombarded at the weekend.
Simone Grogan
Japan could be open to a fuel-swap deal with Australia’s LNG but has cautioned Anthony Albanese against taxing oil and gas exports saying it could hurt the bilateral relationship.
Caitlyn Rintoul
Fortescue founder Andrew Forrest says China’s state-backed iron buyer shouldn’t ‘poke the bear’ and must quit using tactics aimed at negotiating lower prices for the key steel ingredient.
Paul-Alain Hunt, Katharine Gemmell and Stephen Engle
WA miners dealing with paralysing uncertainty brought by the Middle East conflict have lauded the prospect of an open door to new funding and trade opportunities with allies in the EU.
Europe is poised to overtake the US as Australia’s second-biggest trading partner after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed a blockbuster trade deal.
Latika M Bourke
WA has its first new iron ore mine this year after Mineral Resources shipped maiden ore from its Lamb Creek project three months after breaking ground.
Adrian Rauso
China’s state-backed iron ore trader has told steel mills that it’s temporarily easing restrictions on one of BHP’s grades, after worries over a broadening of bans sent prices rising this week.
Alfred Cang
Investors have lost confidence in BHP’s ability to emerge victorious from an iron ore trade dispute with China after key products were added to a growing ban list.
The organisation menacing the bedrock of WA’s economy has officially cemented its status as a key part of China’s political apparatus.
China’s state-backed iron ore buyer has summoned traders and urged them to refrain from buying new BHP cargoes to sell to buyers after they were found to be flouting a restriction on the purchases.
Katharine Gemmell and Alfred Cang
In a defeat for the Trump administration, a Federal judge in New York ruled on Wednesday that companies that paid tariffs struck down last month by Supreme Court are due refunds.
Paul Wiseman and Mae Anderson
Iran has closed a crucial waterway - the Strait of Hormuz - in a move that will choke a fifth of global oil flows and send crude prices sharply higher.
WA’s Mines Minister will make for North America with a host of critical minerals companies in tow in the hopes of drumming up new business for mutually beneficial mining and energy projects.
Australian agriculture exports are going more places than ever, new data has revealed, as a new threat of US tariffs looms large.
Nathan Schmidt
Australia believes a trade deal with the European Union is the closest it has been to being finalised as Trade Minister Don Farrell flies to Brussels to hold talks with his counterparts.
Katina Curtis
Australia has imposed a 10 per cent tariff on steel ceiling frames from China, following an investigation by the nation’s Anti-Dumping Commission.
Paul-Alain Hunt
