General Motors Cuts Out China 🚗

General Motors has instructed several thousand suppliers to eliminate Chinese parts and materials from their supply chains, according to a Reuters report. The company has set a 2027 deadline for some suppliers, accelerating a shift that began in late 2024 and gained urgency this year as U.S.–China trade tensions intensified.

🇨🇳 China No-No: The directive applies to components used in vehicles manufactured in North America and extends to other countries subject to U.S. trade restrictions. GM prefers sourcing from North American plants but is open to non-Chinese suppliers elsewhere.

🌎 Double Trouble: GM’s directive also covers suppliers operating in other countries under U.S. trade restrictions, including Russia and Venezuela.

Why is GM doing this? Automakers have been dealing with repeated disruptions this year as U.S.–China tensions unsettle the flow of parts. Shifting tariffs and warnings about shortages in chips and critical minerals have added to the pressure. The uncertainty is prompting companies to reassess the extent to which their supply chains rely on China.

The U.S. Geological Survey has published the final 2025 Critical Minerals List, naming 60 minerals essential to the U.S. economy and national security — and most vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. The update expands America’s definition of strategic materials as the administration pushes to reduce dependence on foreign adversaries and secure domestic supply chains.

🆕 Additions: Ten minerals were newly added to the 2025 U.S. Critical Minerals List — bringing the total to 60. The additions include boron, copper, lead, metallurgical coal, phosphate, potash, rhenium, silicon, silver, and uranium.

🇺🇸 Self-Sufficient: Several of the newly added minerals are ones the U.S. already produces and exports at scale — including metallurgical coal and boron. According to the USGS, boron made the list after industry groups in California pushed for its inclusion.

🪙 Silver Bullet: Silver’s addition to the U.S. critical minerals list has become the market’s biggest catalyst — lifting expectations that it could soon be swept into future tariff actions. Reports indicate that the designation has already led to record stockpiling in New York and tightened supplies in London.

Vulcan Elements and ReElement Technologies have secured a $1.4 billion agreement with the U.S. government to expand domestic production of rare earth magnets, a sector that has long been dominated by China.

The Commerce Department and the Pentagon will provide financing and take equity stakes, including warrants issued to the Department of War, as well as $50 million in equity from the Commerce Department.

Vulcan plans to build a 10,000-tonne magnet facility and expand its partnership with ReElement to produce a fully integrated, U.S.-based supply chain, including the recycling of end-of-life magnets and electronics. Funding includes a $620 million federal loan, $50 million in CHIPS Act incentives, and $550 million in private capital, with ReElement receiving an additional loan for processing expansion.

Global air cargo tonnages are on track for 4% growth in 2025, according to WorldACD Market Data. October volumes increased 8% from September, driven by strong gains in North America, Central and South America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and Africa. Asia Pacific posted 9% year-on-year growth in October and 7% growth for the year to date.

Average global air cargo rates remained stable month-on-month at $2.48 per kilogram but were 5% lower than a year ago, with the sharpest declines coming from the Middle East and South Asia. Europe was the only major region to record a slight year-on-year rate increase.

Asia-Pacific to US volumes continue to climb, especially from Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore, offsetting weaker flows from China and Japan. Spot rates from China to the US ticked up to 5.59 dollars per kilo, their highest level this year, but still below last year’s levels.

U.S. ports are experiencing the expected decline in cargo volumes for the fourth quarter, with inbound shipments projected to fall 11.5% in October to 1.99 million TEUs, according to the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

The Port of Long Beach recorded a steeper decline, with imports down 17.6% to 401,915 TEUs and total throughput falling 14.9% from the previous year. Exports declined by 11.5%, and the number of empty containers decreased by 12.6%.

Port officials said the slowdown reflects continued weakness in China-U.S. trade, with Chinese exports to the U.S. falling 25.2% in October, the seventh month of double-digit declines. Long Beach expects some recovery ahead following a 10% reduction in fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese goods. Officials also reported a 52% drop in cold-weather apparel shipments this year.

Canada’s forestry industry plans to divert about 10% of the lumber typically shipped to the U.S. toward markets in the UK, EU, and the Middle East after President Donald Trump imposed a new 10% tariff on Canadian lumber in September, adding to an existing 35% duty.

The shift would reroute roughly 1 billion board feet of wood a year, reflecting growing pressure on Canada’s C$87 billion forestry sector, which has faced shutdowns and job losses under escalating U.S. trade measures.

Canadian officials argue the new duties will create supply shortages and raise building costs in the U.S., which relies on Canada for about 12 billion board feet of softwood annually.

The U.S. lumber industry claims that domestic producers can replace lost Canadian supply, citing increased capacity since 2016. However, U.S. homebuilders warn that reduced imports will elevate construction and renovation costs, noting that sawmills are running at just 64% of capacity.

Toyota has begun production at a new $13.9 billion battery plant in North Carolina, marking its first in-house battery facility outside Japan. The company also stated that it will invest up to an additional $10 billion in the United States over the next five years, confirming plans that President Donald Trump referenced last month.

Toyota provided limited details about how the new spending will be allocated, but executives described the move as a major step in expanding its North American manufacturing base. The plant will supply batteries for hybrid and all-electric models.

The announcement comes as the U.S. car market shifts sharply toward hybrids and away from fully electric vehicles, a trend that has benefited Toyota. The company holds more than half of the U.S. hybrid market and reported a 9.9 percent increase in American sales through the third quarter.

The United States and South Korea released details of a sweeping trade and investment agreement that includes a $150 billion Korean commitment to the U.S. shipbuilding sector, as well as another $200 billion earmarked for American industrial projects.

The announcement formalizes terms reached during President Donald Trump’s October meeting with President Lee Jae Myung, where Washington agreed to cut tariffs on South Korean goods from 25% to 15%. Seoul said the package totals $350 billion, with cash contributions capped at $20 billion per year.

According to a White House fact sheet, the deal allows South Korea to build nuclear-powered submarines with U.S. approval, and both countries will cooperate on sourcing fuel and expanding partnerships in AI, shipbuilding, and the nuclear industry.

Hapag-Lloyd reported on Thursday that its nine-month net profit fell by half to €846 million, a sharp reversal driven by war-related reroutings, shifting U.S. trade policies, and a softening freight market.

The German carrier also lowered the top end of its full-year earnings outlook to between €500 million and €1 billion, underscoring the volatility of the global shipping environment. Shares dropped 4.6 percent in Frankfurt after the results.

The company stated that, although transported volumes increased by 9 percent to 10.2 million TEUs this year, costs rose even faster. Transport expenses increased nearly 11 percent to €10.5 billion, while average freight rates slipped almost 5 percent over the same period to $1,397 per container.

Battery suppliers in China are pushing for higher prices for cobalt-based materials as a sharp rebound in cobalt squeezes the global supply chain. Producers of nickel-manganese-cobalt (NCM) precursors — the key feedstock for NCM cathodes used in about 20% of Chinese EVs — have recently sought higher prices for long-term contracts, according to reports.

NCM precursors are typically priced at about a 10% discount to spot cobalt sulfate in China. However, with cobalt prices rising and supply tightening, producers are now pushing to narrow that discount to around 5%, which would increase costs for battery makers. Some suppliers are even looking to cut the discount further on spot orders next year, betting the cobalt rally will continue or that inventories will stay tight.

The Trump administration said on Thursday that it will lower U.S. tariffs on coffee and bananas as part of new trade frameworks with Argentina, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Ecuador.

Under the initial framework, a 10% reciprocal tariff will remain on goods from Guatemala, Argentina, and El Salvador, while a 15% levy will stay on Ecuadorian imports.

But the deals carve out exemptions for products the U.S. cannot produce “in sufficient quantities,” including coffee, cocoa, and bananas. Guatemala and Ecuador are the largest banana exporters to the U.S., while most U.S. coffee imports come from Brazil — a country not covered by the agreement.

Senior officials said easing tariffs should help relieve price pressures after U.S. coffee prices jumped nearly 20% this year, driven by severe weather and global supply disruptions.

The U.S. Mint pressed its final pennies on Wednesday, ending more than 230 years of making the 1-cent coin. Officials said the penny is no longer practical to produce because each one costs nearly four cents to manufacture. President Donald Trump ordered the phaseout earlier this year to cut costs, with the Treasury estimating annual savings of about $56 million.

Billions of pennies already in circulation will remain legal tender, but no new coins will be issued. Most production had already halted during the summer. Retailers and banks reported shortages as the final phase approached, prompting some businesses to round prices or request exact change from customers.

Officials said the penny had lost practical use in an economy increasingly driven by electronic payments. They also noted that other low-denomination coins face similar cost pressures, including the nickel, which now costs nearly 14 cents to produce.