Brazil, US to meet on tariffs after Lula-Trump call

Spanish Market: Agriculture, Biofuels, Crude oil, Fertilizers, Metals
24/08/26

Brazilian and US representatives will meet this week to discuss US tariffs on Brazilian imports imposed in July, following a phone call between the presidents of both countries last week.

The US' trade representative Jamieson Greer reached out to the Brazilian government shortly after presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Donald Trump spoke on the phone last week, according to Brazilian officials. Lula told Trump then that the US' 25pc tariffs on Brazilian products were "unfounded".

Brazil's trade minister Marcio Rosa and representatives from the foreign affairs ministry will meet with the US' Office of Trade Representative (USTR) this week, the Brazilian government said, but a specific date was not disclosed.

The USTR imposed the tariffs as a result of a year-long "Section 301" investigation into unfair Brazilian trade practices, citing a restrictive ethanol market as one of the reasons for the probe. Other factors included concerns over organized crime, corruption, deforestation and unfair competition from Brazil's digital payments system, Pix.

Although many products — such as pig iron, iron ore, rare-earth metals, crude, coffee and beef — are exempt from the tariffs, many others, such as ethanol, sugar and beef tallow, are not.

By Lucas Parolin

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24/08/26

India’s steel sector backs government mining reforms

Mumbai, 24 August (Argus) — India's reforms for mining taxation that were introduced this month will create policy certainty, remove the overhang of retrospective tax claims and strengthen domestic iron ore supply, industry experts said. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act (MMDR) 2026, which came into effect from 22 August, restricts states from independently imposing new mining-related taxes and cesses. Any levies must now adhere to conditions and restrictions laid down by the central government, according to the act. This followed a July 2024 ruling where the Supreme Court's eight-judge majority held that royalty paid by mining firms is separate from taxes and is simply a payment for the right to extract minerals. The court also ruled that state governments have the power to impose their own taxes on mineral rights. The court in August 2024 also ruled that Indian state governments can demand previous dues on taxes from mining firms but not for the period prior to 1 April 2005. "The recent [amendment] removes two very important things. One is uncertainty from your business models and two, the retrospective overhang, which after crores of investment, can completely jeopardise your economics," Rashmi Group chief of strategy and corporate affairs Arnab Kumar Hazra told Argus at an industry event in Kolkata. Rashmi Group is an industrial conglomerate with various divisions including iron and steel, ferro-alloys and power. After the 2024 ruling, states started imposing their own taxes on minerals, leading to non-uniform taxes across different regions, market participants said. The retrospective tax provision exposed the mining sector to substantial liabilities, with some estimates pegging the dues at 2 trillion rupees ($20.9bn). NMDC, India's largest merchant iron ore mining firm, estimates its potential tax liability in Karnataka at about Rs158bn, subject to the outcome of the state's proposed retrospective mineral tax law and related legislative developments. Under the amendment, any mineral tax demand is invalid if the state had not collected the tax before the new law took effect. But taxes or cesses already collected by state governments before the law was implemented will not be refunded, according to the act. The amendment has strengthened confidence in mining by creating a more uniform tax framework, curbing states' scope to introduce new levies and eliminating retrospective tax demands, industry participants said. The reforms will also raise availability of iron ore in the domestic market, strengthening raw material security and reducing import dependence, state-owned producer Steel Authority of India (Sail) said last week. "With improved viability and development of its captive mines, Sail will be able to make additional iron ore available for sale in the market, in accordance with the applicable regulatory framework," the company said in a statement. State governments are now likely to speed up the auctioning of mines to bolster revenues after the amendment, Hazra said. By Amruta Khandekar Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Egypt’s NCIC issues fertilizer sales tender

24/08/26

Egypt’s NCIC issues fertilizer sales tender

London, 24 August (Argus) — Egyptian fertilizer producer NCIC has issued a tender to sell various fertilizers, closing on 1 September. NCIC is offering the following products: 10,000t of DAP — it sold 21,000t at $915-920/t fob in its 11 August tender 10,000t of TSP 10,000t of SSP 10,000t of merchant-grade 52-54pc P2O5 phosphoric acid solution 1,000t of water-soluble SOP — it sold 500t at $750/t bagged ex-works in its 11 August tender NCIC did not award the 10,000t of TSP and 30,000t of SSP offered in its 11 August tender. The producer does not typically sell phosphoric acid for export. Bids in this tender are to be valid for two weeks. The phosphoric acid is to be loaded at Ain Sokhna sea port. NCIC says that the buyer will incur storage costs for cargoes not loaded within 30 days from issuing the invoice. By Tom Hampson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US-Canada trade deal collapses as tariffs begin

22/08/26

US-Canada trade deal collapses as tariffs begin

Washington, 22 August (Argus) — The US began collecting new tariffs on about $28bn of Canadian imports on Saturday, and Canada vowed to retaliate, after the two countries failed to reach a trade deal after months of negotiations. Trade negotiations collapsed late on Friday, prompting the US to impose new 50pc tariffs on commodities such as cement, plywood and paper. The impasse also means, at least for now, the end of an effort to reduce US tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said he would match the tariffs "dollar for dollar", escalating a trade fight that President Donald Trump launched near the start of his second term by putting steep tariffs on vast amounts of imports coming across the border. "This evening, I have decided to suspend trade negotiations with the US," Carney said after negotiations fell apart. "Last-minute changes in the US proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal." The US blamed Canada for the failure of talks, claiming Canada made "new demands" and walked back other commitments, despite being offered significantly lower tariffs on steel, aluminum, automobiles and lumber. "This is a missed opportunity for Canada to partner with the United States," the US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a social media post. The collapse of the deal comes as Trump is facing political blowback over the high prices consumers are paying partly because of his tariffs. On Friday, Trump said he reached a deal allowing up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported without tariffs, which he said would lower beef prices. The latest 50pc tariffs will not apply to energy, potash or critical miners, but they will tack on additional costs on other key imports into the US. The failure of the trade talks also could derail Trump's hopes of reviving the Keystone XL crude pipeline. Trump, just days before the trade negotiations faltered, had said that under a deal Keystone XL "may be awoken from the grave" despite being cancelled in 2021. The administration had not offered details about a strategy to restart the project, which its developers abandoned years ago in favor of alternatives such as the 550,000 b/d Prairie Connector pipeline. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Pro Farmer crop tour day 4: Minnesota looks best

21/08/26

Pro Farmer crop tour day 4: Minnesota looks best

Rochester, 21 August (Argus) — Yield indications for corn and soybeans in Minnesota point to a better-than-expected harvest for the state, while the final picture for Iowa was mixed on the fourth and final day of the US Pro Farmer crop tour. The two halves of the tour starting in Spencer, Iowa, and Riverside, Iowa, moved north to converge in Rochester, Minnesota, on Thursday to conclude the US crop survey. The results from the Minnesota portion of the tour were favorable for the state's corn and soybean harvest outlook. Forecast corn yields exceeded the three-year average by 8.7pc at 199.01 bushels (bu) per acre, and exceeded the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) estimate of 197 bu/acre. The soybean portion of the Minnesotan survey resulted in pod counts — measured as the number of pods in a 3ft-by-3ft plot —at 1,257.8, up by 15pc from the three-year average, while the USDA's current yield estimate of 48 bu/acres exceeds the three-year average by only 0.7pc. The final forecast for Iowa's corn yield was at 193.98 bu/acre.up by 1.4pc from the three-year average. But this expected gain would still place yields in the state 2.2pc below last year's tour results, and well below the record 216 bu/acre currently forecast by the USDA. The tour's results for Iowa's soybean crop were more in line with the current USDA projection, with pod counts observed at 1,362.93, down by 1.6pc from the three-year average, and consistent with the current USDA yield forecast of 62 bu/acre. Crops improve as the tour moves north Moving into Minnesota, fewer observations of crop disease and under pollination were reported, but the current drought did make itself apparent in the corn crop. While fewer incidents of tip-back were reported in the surveyed corn acres, ear lengths were generally shorter than anticipated due to drought this season. The soybean crop had less evidence of drought, with the condition of the crop improving from fields surveyed in western Iowa and Nebraska. Reports of disease presence in both crops were far fewer than in the states surveyed earlier in the tour, with fewer reports of weed pressure as well. But soil conditions were generally drier-than-optimal for this point in the year, with limited reports of browning crops and small areas of nitrogen deficiently observed. While both the corn and soybean crops were in overall better condition than in the previous states surveyed, it was noted that soybean yields in particular would benefit from some additional rain ahead of harvest this fall. By Alexander Schultz and Ryan Koory US crop tour results - Iowa Corn Yields (bu/acre) USDA (bu/acre) 2026 193.98 216.00 2025 198.43 210.00 2022-24 average 191.34 204.00 Soybeans Pod counts* USDA (bu/acre) 2026 1,362.93 62.00 2025 1,384.38 63.50 2022-24 average 1,295.70 58.83 *the number of pods in a 3ft-by-3ft plot — USDA, US Pro Farmer crop tour US crop tour results - Minnesota Corn Yields (bu/acre) USDA (bu/acre) 2026 199.01 197.00 2025 202.86 201.00 2022-24 average 183.04 184.67 Soybeans Pod counts* USDA (bu/acre) 2026 1,257.80 48.00 2025 1,247.86 52.50 2022-24 average 1,089.82 47.67 *the number of pods in a 3ft-by-3ft plot — USDA, US Pro Farmer crop tour Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Australia must stay realistic in metals race: Panel

21/08/26

Australia must stay realistic in metals race: Panel

Singapore, 21 August (Argus) — Australia must be realistic about where it can compete in critical minerals and batteries, and shying away from collaboration with the Chinese across investment and technology is "a mistake", according to panellists at a recent Argus forum in Perth, Australia. Australia has been pulled into a strategic competition between the US and China to its disadvantage, chief executive of Australia's Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, Warren Pearce, said during a panel discussion at the forum earlier in the week. Australia should have been able to play the US and China off against each other to gain investment, but instead explorers are being pressured to align with the US from the get-go, taking Chinese investment and early-stage opportunities off the table, Pearce said. "What is in the US interest is not necessarily in our interest," Pearce said, adding that there is room for Australia to co-operate with China to bring technology and build capability in the former given that not all critical minerals are crucial to defence applications and national security. China first added gallium and germanium products to its list of export-controlled dual-use items in August 2023 and subsequently added more products, including some rare earths products and other critical minerals, to the export-controlled dual-use list in the following years. China introduced even tighter measures for exports of some products to the US and Japan this year. It imposed export controls on heavy rare earths and dual-use technologies to Japan in January, and tightened existing controls on a wide range of dual-use critical minerals to the US in July. Dual-use products are goods and technologies that can be used for civilian and military purposes. Some of the Australia's decisions could close the door on Chinese Investment, Pearce said, citing recent decisions by the country's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) ordered China-linked investors to divest from Northern Minerals' Browns Range heavy rare earth project in 2024. The board issued further sell-off orders in May . But three investors have repeatedly failed to comply with the orders . The firm previously targeted an FID for its Browns Range mine in Western Australia by 30 June. It currently aims to reach FID in the July-September quarter. Australian producers also need to think through their position on developing intermediate and downstream products, according to Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) chief financial officer Stephen Motteram, as they might be better off sitting closer to final end-users. ASM is developing the Dubbo rare earth project in New South Wales, and manufactures rare earth alloys and metals at its Korean Metals Plant in Ochang, South Korea, where some of the end-users are. US uranium producer Energy Fuels is aiming to set up the first part of a mine-to-magnet supply chain outside of China. Energy Fuels bought ASM in mid-August ASM also originally planned to produce separated rare earth oxides at the Dubbo project, but is now considering producing mixed rare earth hydroxide precipitate and shipping it directly to its parent company's White Mesa Mill in Utah for further processing. Consumers need to value non-China alternatives for projects to get built in the west and induce a demand for Western supply chains, Motteram said. China accounted for about 90pc of global rare earth refining in 2025. But that may fall to 70-73pc by 2035 if foreign projects reach production, according to the International Energy Agency's modelling. Battery industry Chinese firms also continue to dominate the global battery industry, including the low-cost lithium-iron-phosphate battery chemistry. But competing with China's battery chemistry forte that it has worked on over the last decade is "never going to win", said Ron Mitchell the chief executive officer of Australian manganese firm Firebird Metals. "The only way to do it is to look at the next generation [batteries]," he said, adding that being smarter around production pathway can be an advantage to offset higher production costs. Firebird owns the Oakover manganese project in Australia. It also built a demonstration-scale plant in Perth to produce cathode active material (CAM) via an end-to-end process — from manganese ore conversion into high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate all the way to CAM. The plant is expected to commission in October-December, the firm said. Argus Consulting expects high-manganese battery chemistries' market share to grow from 2pc in 2025 to 14pc in 2036, with automakers such as General Motors looking at commercialising lithium-manganese-rich batteries . By Daniel Gage-Brown and Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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