European Bitumen Market Update July 2024
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US' new Iran campaign tries to spread the pain
US' new Iran campaign tries to spread the pain
Washington, 24 August (Argus) — The US' latest effort to apply economic pressure against Tehran announced Monday follows a familiar strategy of threatening punishment against Iran's foreign economic partners. President Donald Trump's administration "is no longer managing the Iranian threat — we are ending it," Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Monday in announcing "Operation Economic Outcast", in which Treasury's enforcement arm intends to cut off Iran's financial lifeline to the world. The measures, which Bessent dubbed "Economic D-Day" for its targeting of Iran's economy, include sanctions against shippers based in the UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong and against six tankers owned by those entities. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also imposed sanctions on French biofuels plant La Nivernaise De Raffinage and its parent company Wellbred and affiliates in the UAE and Switzerland. OFAC accused Wellbred, which is headquartered in Singapore and trades LPG and oil products, of being under the control of Iranian businessman Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, whom the US previously accused of trading oil and products on behalf of Tehran. Wellbred did not immediately comment on OFAC's sanctions designation. OFAC separately issued new guidance warning of potential sanctions against any entity cooperating with Iran's aviation, digital asset, gold, shipping and technology sectors. OFAC also canceled sanctions waivers allowing Iran's participation in international athletic tournaments and enabling US-Iranian academic exchanges. OFAC also issued additional warnings against cooperating with the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), an entity Tehran established earlier this year to enforce its claim over the management of ship traffic through the strait of Hormuz. PGSA, in turn, warned on Monday that vessels breaching strait of Hormuz transit rules could face restrictions on future passages, including fines, seizure or confiscation. Many years of "maximum pressure" Bessent described Treasury's actions on Monday as "unprecedented" in scope. But Treasury has been targeting energy and other sectors of the Iranian economy non-stop since Trump in May 2019 declared a policy of "maximum economic pressure" against Iran and vowed to reduce the country's crude exports to zero. OFAC has added hundreds of tankers and shipping companies to its sanctions list over their alleged business interactions with Tehran in the past seven years. China has been the primary economic partner of Iran and the main destination for Iranian crude exports since the imposition of US sanctions against Tehran in 2019. But Bessent did not explicitly outline any new action in the works against Chinese oil buyers and banks dealing with Tehran. "We want to make clear to here today that no one is above the reach of US sanctions," Bessent said, adding that he expects "a major announcement of a financial institution being sanctioned by the end of this week". China and Iran held talks on the situation in the Mideast Gulf on Sunday, the Chinese government said, signaling Beijing's continued diplomatic support for Tehran despite the US announcement of a new economic pressure campaign. Bessent implicitly acknowledged the potential for global turmoil if the US actually makes good on its promise to penalize all entities dealing with Iran. "Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?" he said. "We believe that it is important to level set and give people a cure period, but they should know that that will move very quickly and that we are serious." Trump has held talks with foreign leaders to urge them to drastically cut business ties with Iran, Bessent said, without providing any details. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazil, US to meet on tariffs after Lula-Trump call
Brazil, US to meet on tariffs after Lula-Trump call
Sao Paulo, 24 August (Argus) — 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 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
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.
India's 1H26 bitumen imports halve on US-Iran conflict
India's 1H26 bitumen imports halve on US-Iran conflict
Singapore, 21 August (Argus) — India's bitumen imports fell by 50pc on the year in the first half of 2026 as the US-Iran conflict and a US naval blockade in the region disrupted vessel logistics, leaving most vessels chartered by Indian market participants stranded inside the blockade. Imports totalled 905,000t during January-June, down from 1.81mn t in the same period last year, according to the latest Indian customs data from Global Trade Tracker (GTT). Second-quarter imports were 271,356t, down by around 68pc from 857,419t a year earlier, the data show. Exports from Iran, a key supplier of bitumen to India, fell because of the conflict and the de facto closure of the strait of Hormuz from March, while the US blockade in the Mideast Gulf added further pressure. Although some vessels crossed the blockade in April, import volumes stayed low as most vessel owners were unwilling to risk crossing on fears of US attacks. US forces attacked at least two bitumen tankers in June, saying that the ships had attempted to evade the blockade. India is a net importer of bitumen and lacked alternate supply sources because of unviable seaborne values in Europe and Asia and tight supply in southeast Asia. But buyers with urgent requirements sought cargoes from south China, and around 5,000t were imported from south China in June, the data show. This was the second cargo from south China this year. A state-controlled refiner imported this cargo, purchased on a formula-linked price based on the Argus fob Mideast Gulf assessment, underscoring regional supply tightness. Official import data for July and August has yet to be released, but imports are expected to remain subdued as renewed US-Iran tensions and a fresh US naval blockade since mid-July have left bitumen vessels stranded in the Mideast Gulf and many vessel owners are hesitant to load a cargo from Iran, Indian importers said. July and August are typically the peak monsoon months in India. This year's monsoon has brought less rainfall than last year, but it has still affected imports and halted projects where thunderstorms occurred, particularly in the northeastern and southwestern states. India has received about 10pc less rainfall than average so far this monsoon season, which began on 1 June, with some western and southern states recording deficits of around 30pc, the meteorological service said. Conditions are likely to clear by mid-September, allowing previously delayed projects to resume. By Sathya Narayanan and Chloe Choo Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.