Elon Musk has been the world’s richest person for a long time, but he has never seen wealth on this level. No one has.
As SpaceX’s (NASDAQ: SPCX) stock price has continued to soar, so too has Musk’s net worth. And it has reached the point that Musk could lose $1 trillion and still sit atop the list of the world’s richest individuals.
SpaceX shares were up for the second consecutive day Tuesday, with SpaceX’s market cap topping both Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and, for a period of time, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). That gave another boost to Musk’s fortune. As of 10:32 a.m. ET Tuesday, Musk was worth $1.4 trillion, according to Forbes (1). That’s an increase of over $100 billion since the close of trading Monday.
The second-richest person in the world is Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) cofounder Larry Page, who has a net worth of $300.8 billion. (Bloomberg’s rankings (2) put Page at $314 billion.) Take away $1 trillion and Musk still has a very comfortable lead over Page and has more than the net worth of Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) founder Jensen Huang ($176 billion) and Meta (NASDAQ: META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg ($211 billion) added together.
Rocketing growth
Musk’s stake in Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) had already secured him the top spot on the list of the world’s richest people, but SpaceX has taken it to a different stratosphere.
The company’s stock saw another big boost in early trading Tuesday, with gains of 14% in the first hour. That sent its market cap soaring to the point where it topped both Amazon and Microsoft in less than two days of trading. (It later lost some ground, falling below Microsoft once again.) SpaceX, as of Tuesday morning, is the fifth-largest company on Wall Street, behind Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Alphabet and Nvidia.
Musk owns an estimated 43% stake (3) in SpaceX, tying a considerable amount of his fortune to the rocket/AI company. He also holds approximately 16% (4) of Tesla shares, along with investments in other private companies, such as tunneling startup The Boring Company and brain implant firm Neuralink.
Rich on paper
Musk’s fortune, of course, isn’t found in a bank account. The value is tied to the performance of SpaceX and Tesla. That means his net worth will fluctuate regularly.
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/elon-musk-could-lose-nearly-163500207.html
A Russian warship in the English Channel fired warning shots several hundred yards in front of UK-flagged yacht that appeared to be sailing on a collision course with it on Tuesday, according to Russia’s defense ministry.
The yacht did not report any injuries or damage and is continuing its journey.
The ministry statement said the crew of a Russian frigate saw the civilian yacht, Bright Future, and said it was “on a dangerous course” that would bring it into “close proximity” with the warship.
After several unanswered attempts to contact the yacht’s crew via radio, the vessel stayed its course and the Russian crew launched signal flares to get the vessel’s attention, according to the defense ministry.
The Russian ministry said that the sailboat continued its “dangerous approach” and once it was close to 150 meters away, the Russian frigate commander “decided to open warning fire along the vessel’s course using the ship’s small arms.” The yacht then changed course away from the Russian ship, the ministry said.
“The crew of the frigate ‘Admiral Grigorovich’ acted in strict accordance with international maritime regulations and took all necessary measures to prevent an incident,” Russia’s defense ministry said.
A UK Defense Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday that the warning shots were not aimed at the UK vessel but were “an attempt to prevent a possible collision.” The incident took place 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the Isle of Wight, outside UK territorial waters.
The movements of Russian warships as they pass through the English Channel, the busiest shipping area in the world, are routinely tracked and monitored by UK authorities. On Tuesday, the Grigorovich was being shadowed by HMS Mersey, a Royal Navy offshore patrol vessel operating in the area at the time of the incident, the spokesperson said.
According to a UK defense source the Russian vessel was signaling to other vessels that it was drifting rather than being maneuvered under power, which the source said my have made the Russian ship feel more vulnerable, leading to the warning shots. The shots fired are believed to be single rounds rather than automatic fire, the source added.
The incident comes two days after the UK military, for the first time, intercepted an oil tanker linked to Russia’s shadow fleet in the English Channel, according to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Officials are not linking the two events.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/16/uk/russian-warship-warning-shots-latam-intl
New Delhi [India], June 16 (ANI): The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve tumbled last week to its lowest level since 1983 as the Trump administration continues to deploy emergency oil to minimize economic damage from the war with Iran.
Citing federal data released on Monday, a CNN news report highlighted that US officials released another 8.9 million barrels from the emergency stockpile last week alone. The news report mentioned that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) held 340.3 million barrels of crude oil as of June 12, 2026, dropping below the prior historic low set in July 2023 under President Joe Biden following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The last time the reserve held less oil than its current level was July 1983, a period when the 40th US President, Ronald Reagan administration was still filling the reserve for the first time, and the United States operated a significantly smaller economy.
The SPR has emerged as a key tool Trump officials use to mitigate the harm of high energy prices to consumers, businesses, and the wider economy. Back-to-back global conflicts wiped out a large chunk of the stockpile, which is down 75 million barrels, or 18 per cent, since the war with Iran started in late February.
At current levels, the emergency reserve stands at a little less than half full.
'The Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases, combined with releases by other governments and China reducing its exports, have prevented the Armageddon scenario of $150 oil from happening to date,' the news report quoted Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.
'If we were to get a major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico that shuts production down for several weeks, that buffer would no longer be there,' Lipow said.
Lipow added that SPR releases may have to slow once the Trump administration finishes releasing the 172 million barrels it pledged to deploy back in March.
The rapid drawdown also marks a political shift. When launching his third run for the White House in 2022, President Donald Trump criticized Biden for draining the reserve ahead of that year's midterm elections. However, Trump officials are now draining the SPR at a faster pace ahead of this year's midterms.
Production officials warned that the stockpile faces operational limits if the current trajectory continues.
'The SPR must be at least 20% full to be operational,' warned Mike Sommers, CEO of the American Petroleum Reserve, during an interview last week on CNN's The Lead. 'We're raising alarm bells right now.'
'We're getting to levels where we are starting to be concerned,' Sommers added.
The emergency oil released since the conflict with Iran began will require replacement over time. However, the report mentioned that this replenishment will not occur in time for the peak of the hurricane season, leaving the domestic energy supply vulnerable to immediate weather disruptions. (ANI)
The question for the market, now that a deal has been reached to reopen Hormuz, is whether Chinese demand for fuels like gasoline will normalize, or whether the rapid transport electrification has permanently dented consumption.
Chinese oil refiners sharply reduced output last month to the weakest level in nearly four years, after the country's crude imports plunged to an eight-year low due to the nearhalt to shipments from the Persian Gulf.
Aluminum, another commodity heavily impacted by the war in Iran, saw production hit a record in May, according to the statistics bureau on Tuesday. Meanwhile, China's worst coal disaster in years forced miners to trim output as the authorities tightened up on safety.
Oil refining volumes extended declines, dropping 9.1 percent year-on-year to 53.72 million tons, the lowest since August 2022. State-owned refiners ended the month with an average run rate of 66.3 percent, a low for a dataset that began in late 2021.
The burning question for the market, now that a deal has been reached to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, is whether Chinese demand for fuels like gasoline and diesel will normalize, or whether the rapid electrification of the country's transport network has permanently dented consumption. GL Consulting is among those that expect refining activity to remain subdued, forecasting a 5 percent drop in 2026.
The interim agreement between the US and Iran should help relieve severe tightness in the global market for aluminum. China, the world’s largest producer, has taken advantage of the shortfall from the Middle East to maximize output, which rose again in May by 1.7 percent to 3.89 million tons.
But the end to hostilities could prove an inflection point if Chinese exports contract in coming months as Middle Eastern supply gradually resumes. Domestic demand remains tepid, while the test of the government's capacity ceiling could leave smelters at risk of increased regulatory scrutiny.
Nationwide coal output was affected by heightened safety inspections, falling 1.7 percent to 397.22 million tons. The disruptions are likely to persist for longer in Shanxi, the top producing province where the deadly accident occurred. Other hubs may be quicker to recover as the government seeks to ensure sufficient power over the peak summer period.
Electricity output rose 4.2 percent in May, with southern regions recording peak loads one month earlier than usual due to El Niño-driven heat.
Steel production fell 2.7 percent to 84.36 million tons as mills continue to adjust to weaker demand stemming from the ongoing property crisis and lackluster economic activity. Lower steel prices and higher coking coal costs because of the Shanxi accident have also compressed margins.
![Facilities of QatarEnergy are seen in the Mesaieed Industrial Area south of Doha, Qatar on March 5, 2026. [Stringer - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AA-20260305-40743270-40743263-QATARENERGY_FACILITIES_IN_MESAIEED_INDUSTRIAL_AREA_AFTER_LNG_FORCE_MAJEURE_DECLARATION-1-1.jpg?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
Qatar is preparing to rapidly increase liquefied natural gas production once the Strait of Hormuz reopens, with plans to restore most of its export capacity within two months, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter, Anadolu reports.
QatarEnergy, which operates the country’s LNG facilities, has told buyers it expects to lift output to about 50% of capacity one month after safe passage through the strait is restored and to roughly 80% within two months, according to the report.
There has been no official confirmation yet from Doha or QatarEnergy.
The remaining capacity, equivalent to two production trains, is expected to take years to fully restore after damage from Iranian missile strikes in March, Bloomberg cited the people as saying.
Qatar shut the Ras Laffan LNG complex, the world’s largest LNG production facility, in the first week of the war after an Iranian attack. The shutdown triggered cargo cancellations and weighed on Qatar’s longstanding reputation as one of the world’s most reliable LNG suppliers.
The Ras Laffan complex exported nearly one-fifth of global LNG supply last year but has remained largely idle for more than three months, as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz made large-scale gas exports difficult.
QatarEnergy has been preparing for a rapid restart since April by testing equipment and carrying out maintenance, according to the report. Several production trains have reportedly continued operating at reduced capacity to supply neighboring countries and preserve restart readiness.
The planned recovery pace is faster than some analysts and traders had expected, the report said.
US President Donald Trump has said the Strait of Hormuz could reopen by Friday, when an interim agreement with Iran is expected to be signed in Switzerland. However, uncertainty remains over the timeline, with a senior US official warning that mines would still need to be removed before full safe passage can resume.
The return of Qatari LNG would help ease a global supply crunch that has kept prices in Europe and Asia elevated compared with pre-war levels.
Qatar has exported a limited number of LNG shipments from the Persian Gulf to buyers in Asia by masking the location of tankers for security reasons, but volumes remain well below normal levels, according to Bloomberg.
Morgan Stanley has lowered its Brent crude oil price forecast for the fourth quarter of this year by $15 per barrel to $80, after the U.S. and Iran signed a preliminary agreement to end the war in the Gulf.
“From here, it likely takes several weeks for tanker flow to be restored; we see 50% of production back by September, and 80% by December, slightly faster than before,” the bank said in a note late on Monday.
Morgan Stanley joined other banks in lowering their oil price forecasts after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the preliminary agreement, although details have yet to be made public and both the U.S. and Iran said a permanent truce was yet to be negotiated.
Oil prices extended losses on Tuesday, as markets weighed the prospects for a resumption of supply through the key Strait of Hormuz, which typically carried one-fifth of the world’s oil supply before the conflict.
By 0752 GMT, Brent crude futures were down 1.3% to $82.06 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate was down 1.5% at $79.55 a barrel, both hitting their lowest levels since March 10. Prices were trading around $70 before the war.
The cumulative supply loss from the Middle East since March 1 has reached about 1.4 billion barrels across both crude oil and refined products, relative to the same period in 2025, Morgan Stanley said.
Analysts at the bank still see a tight summer, with a deficit of 3.4 million barrels per day expected in the third quarter. However, with the MOU announcement to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, this undersupply is likely to remain limited to the third quarter, and the oil market is expected to return to balance in the fourth quarter, they added.
“However, given that the ‘twin-solvers’ of high U.S. exports and low Chinese imports seem to continue for now, the spread over $80/b can only be so much. With that in mind, we peg our average 3Q Dated Brent forecast at $90/b, down from $100/b before,” they wrote.
(Reporting by Noel John and Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
By Julianne Geiger - Jun 16, 2026, 1:30 PM CDT
The oil market just did something remarkable.
After spending months pricing in tanker attacks, shut-in production, damaged LNG facilities, and the largest supply disruption in modern oil market history, traders are suddenly betting the crisis is ending.
Brent crude futures fell below $79 per barrel on Tuesday, its lowest level since March, after the United States and Iran digitally signed a peace agreement that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the immediate return of Iranian oil sales to global markets.
The selloff has been relentless.
Brent is now down more than 33% over the past month, while WTI has plunged to the mid-$70s. A market that spent the spring obsessing over missing barrels is now worried about just how quickly those barrels might come back.
And there could be a lot of them.
Under the agreement, Iran will be allowed to immediately resume oil and fuel sales, according to the WSJ, along with the banking, insurance, and shipping services needed to move those cargoes. The deal effectively reconnects one of the world's largest oil producers to global energy markets overnight.
The market is also betting that traffic through Hormuz will normalize, easing fears over a chokepoint that normally handles roughly a fifth of global oil flows.
The speed of the decline highlights just how much of crude's rally had become tied to geopolitical risk.
Yet there is a catch.
Inventories remain depleted after months of disrupted flows, and many analysts continue to warn that the market's buffers have been drawn down significantly. Even with a peace agreement in hand, restoring production, exports, and shipping routes is not as simple as flipping a switch.
For now, however, traders aren't waiting around for proof. They're trading as if the war premium is already gone.
Vedanta's 'POWER' play: Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd scripted history today, marking one of the biggest corporate restructuring in India's metals and mining space.
Vedanta Ltd's much-awaited demerger into five separate listed entities came into effect during the June 15 trading session. Following the demerger, shareholders of Vedanta received shares in four newly created companies: Vedanta Aluminium Metal Ltd, Vedanta Oil & Gas Ltd, Vedanta Power Ltd, and Vedanta Iron & Steel Ltd.
In an exclusive interaction with ET NOW, Anil Agarwal discusses the company's roadmap on green power expansion as it sees nuclear as an opportunity.
Vedanta's 'POWER' Play
"We have Athena Chhattisgarh Power Limited and we are putting up 5,000-6,000 megawatt power. We have BALCO and brownfield. On nuclear, we have been talking for the last couple of years and are waiting for the government policy. The government has come very positively and we should be the first one to move forward. India has a huge deposit of thorium and it is the one which can be converted into nuclear fuel. I am looking forward as quickly as possible because this will be the gamechanger for our country as power demand is going to be the highest in the world for India," said Agarwal.
Vedanta Aluminium & Metal Share Price
Vedanta Aluminium & Metal Ltd debuted with a market capitalisation of Rs 1.95 lakh crore. On its listing day, the stock hit the 5 per cent lower circuit, falling Rs 26.35 to trade at Rs 500.65.
Vedanta Oil & Gas Share Price
Vedanta Oil & Gas Ltd was listed with a market capitalisation of Rs 14,487.99 crore. Similar to Vedanta Aluminium & Metal, the stock also hit its 5 per cent lower circuit and was trading at Rs 37.05.
Vedanta Power Share Price
Vedanta Power emerged as the relatively stronger performer among the newly listed entities. The stock was trading 0.6 per cent higher at Rs 41.55, bucking the broader weakness seen across the group's other demerged companies.
Vedanta Iron & Steel Share Price
Vedanta Iron & Steel Ltd was listed with a market capitalisation of Rs 8,231.37 crore. The stock also came under selling pressure, slipping over 5 per cent to hit its lower circuit and trading around Rs 21.
Apart from the four newly listed companies, shares of Vedanta Ltd also traded in the red during the session, although the decline was less severe compared to most of its newly listed entities.
The listings follow the company's announcement of May 1, 2026, as the record date for determining shareholder eligibility for the demerged entities. Vedanta had earlier informed exchanges about the restructuring plan through a filing dated April 20, 2026. (Vedanta Demerger Record Date)
Vedanta Demerger: Share Entitlement Ratio
Under the approved scheme of arrangement, eligible Vedanta shareholders received shares in the demerged companies in the following ratio:
Vedanta Aluminium & Metal Ltd (VAML)
Shareholders received 1 equity share of face value Rs 1 in VAML for every 1 equity share of Vedanta held.
Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd (TSPL)
Shareholders received 1 equity share of face value Rs 10 in TSPL for every 1 equity share of Vedanta held, representing the merchant power undertaking.
Malco Energy Ltd (MEL)
Shareholders received 1 equity share of face value Rs 1 in MEL for every 1 equity share of Vedanta held, representing the oil and gas business.
Vedanta Iron and Steel Ltd (VISL)
Shareholders received 1 equity share of face value Rs 1 in VISL for every 1 equity share of Vedanta held, representing the iron and steel undertaking.
The demerger is aimed at creating focused business verticals, unlocking shareholder value, and enabling each business to pursue independent growth strategies and capital allocation plans.
An interim US-Iran deal to end their months-long war and potentially fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz is unlikely to immediately ease fertilizer flows as shipowners wait for more details to assess the safety of transits.
A vital conduit for global commodity trade, Hormuz has been effectively closed since the first strikes on Iran at the end of February. Even once there is more clarity on the resumption of trade through the waterway, market watchers expect movement of the crop nutrients to be gradual as hundreds of vessels stranded in the region — carrying a variety of cargo — compete for access.
The Gulf region is home to some of the world’s largest fertilizer plants, and the waterway handled about one-third of the global trade in urea — one of the world’s most important crop nutrients. The months of disruption have left large volumes of urea and other fertilizer products trapped behind the strait, sitting aboard vessels unable or unwilling to transit the waterway.
There are over 40 vessels laden with fertilizer in the strait, according to tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg and Kpler. A trickle of ships have made it out since the conflict began, but weekly exports are down 90% from pre-conflict levels, Kpler data show, with flows falling from nearly 600,000 tons a week in late February to 60,000 tons in early June.
Also, fertilizer cargoes are unlikely to be among the first shipments to move. Hormuz is crucial for global energy flows and analysts expect oil and LNG tankers to receive priority.
“When it comes to moving ships through the Strait of Hormuz, it’s going to be oil tankers and LNG carriers that are top of the list once we get towards a more normal flow of traffic,” said Alexis Ellender, senior dry bulk lead at Kpler. “Fertilizer is not as high a priority.”
Still, the continued delays come as much of the Iran war premium has evaporated from the fertilizer market. Prices of urea have plunged more than 30% since mid-April after China eased export restrictions and the planting season in much of the Northern Hemisphere has wound down.
However, prices in the US are still 10% higher than a year earlier.
The ships stranded in the Gulf region are carrying around 1 million tons of nitrogen fertilizer, according to senior CRU analyst Pranshi Goyal. Roughly 40% of that is already committed to India, but the remainder could return to the market once transit resumes, potentially further weighing on prices.
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/06/16/873881.htm
New Delhi is keen to study the mineral composition of deposits in Russia before considering deeper engagement
India has sought rare earth samples from a Siberian deposit owned by Russian company Rosneft, Reuters has reported.
New Delhi is pursuing a strategy to secure supplies and cut dependence on critical minerals from China, which is the world's largest producer of rare earths.
India's IREL, formerly known as Indian Rare Earths Limited - which spearheads the South Asian nation's outreach to secure rare earth supplies - aims to study the mineral composition of the deposit in Tomtor, Siberia, before considering deeper engagement, the report said.
Rosneft acquired the deposit last year.
Rare earth magnets are key components in energy transformation, going into everything from electric vehicles to renewable energy production.
India sits on the world's third-largest rare earth reserves of nearly 7.23 million metric tons, but does not produce rare earth magnets domestically. Its consumption is expected to double by 2030.
Last year, Reuters reported that IREL is in talks with Japanese and South Korean companies to manufacture rare earth magnets commercially.
Globally, nations are frantically pursuing rare earth minerals amid trade tensions between the US and China. Beijing has restricted rare earth exports in response to US tariffs, sparking supply disruptions for the automotive and other high-tech industries.
India is also exploring rare earth mining pacts with Russia, Australia, Argentina, Chile, and several African countries.
In February, India said it aims to start producing rare earth permanent magnets by the end of the year in partnership with the private sector. It allocated $802 million for a program to manufacture rare earth permanent magnets last November. New Delhi also joined the US-ledPax Silica alliance, which aims to secure a supply chain for artificial intelligence, chips, and critical minerals, the same month.
In May, JSC Giredmet, a unit of Rosatom's scientific division, signed a memorandum of understanding with India's Nexon Geochem for research and development of technologies for processing raw materials ofrare earth magnets. Giredmet also signed a letter of intent with Technology Innovation in Exploration & Mining Foundation (TEXMiN) for research and development of technologies for producing permanent magnets.
India is also exploring options to buycoking coal assetsand import more nickel from Russia.
(RT.com)
http://www.shanghaisun.com/news/279126215/india-seeking-siberian-rare-earth-samples-reuters
6.16 SMM Global Steel Daily Report
SMM News Flash: [Rebar] Rebar export FOB offers remained stable today. Market traders reported that inquiries were relatively mediocre and transactions remained weak, with strong wait-and-see sentiment among market participants.
[Steel Billet] Billet export offers were in the doldrums today, quoted at 473-476 USD/tonne. Market feedback indicated that current trader offers were on the high side, while overseas billet export offers declined, weakening China's competitiveness and resulting in mediocre inquiries and poor transaction performance.
[HRC] Sheet & plate export prices dropped1-2 USD/tonne day on day today, with HRC transaction prices at 496-50 USD/tonne. Market feedback showed that inspection rates at North China ports had increased recently, causing some unofficial quoted sources to shift to relatively less stringent ports for port departures, and corresponding price spreads narrowed. Regarding the de-escalation of US-Iran tensions, some export participants consulted today reported no notable increase in inquiries yet, and buyers may also be waiting to see subsequent risks.ently, there have been some new inquiries for medium and heavy plate in the Middle East, with a portion of them resulting in transactions.
[India] A 0.40 INR/kWh industrial power tariff increase in Chhattisgarh, effective 1 Jul 2026, will raise induction furnace billet costs by ~3.17–3.80 USD/tonne and re-rolling (rebar/wire rod) costs by ~0.51–0.63 USD/tonne. Weak monsoon-season demand limits cost pass-through, with billet margins at risk of erosion by 2.64–3.69 USD/tonne.
[SEA] Currently, construction project operating rates in Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand are at a seasonal low, severely suppressing rigid demand for long steel products such as rebar and wire rod. End-user buying sentiment is weak, the pace of overall inventory destocking is slow, and local major mills' rebar EXW prices are at 520–535 USD/tonne. Meanwhile, with the release of information on US-Iran negotiations, news of the Strait of Hormuz unblocking has sparked expectations among Southeast Asian buyers of lower freight rates, creating a mindset of buying on dips and waiting on the sidelines. However, according to SMM's latest survey, even if the agreement can be signed smoothly on the 19th, the actual unblocking of the strait will still require a buffer period. Freight rates are expected to be difficult to lower in the short term and will mainly fluctuate at high levels.
[Taiwan, China] This week, Feng Hsin, a leading long steel producer in Taiwan, kept its long steel prices stable, halting a three-week downward streak. Specifically, the rebar price stabilized at 583 USD/tonne EXW (approximately 18400 TWD/tonne), while the structural steel price held steady at 792 USD/tonne EXW (approximately 25000 TWD/tonne). This price stability indicates that mills are ready to accept new orders as the market gradually bottoms out.
MEPs agree to implement deal almost 12 months after it was proposed and just days before deadline of US threat to raise tariffs
The European parliament has given its final approval to implement last July’s tariff agreement with Donald Trump.
Facing a threat of increased tariffs if the deal was not sanctioned by 4 July, MEPs agreed to approve the deal, with two main provisos.
The first is a “sunset clause” which will mean the deal expires on 31 December 2029 unless it is renewed.
The second sets out “clear conditions” for tariff reductions on products containing some steel and aluminium, tariffs that Trump has imposed under national security laws rather than the tariff regime he instituted on “liberation day” last April.
Under the deal the US applies 15% on most EU exports, while the EU has cut import duties on some US goods, some agricultural products and a wide range of seafood to 0%.
The deal is expected to be formally adopted by EU leaders when they meet in Brussels on Thursday.
The European parliament’s approval came nearly a year after the original deal was agreed at Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland last July, having gone through a democratic process that has baffled the US administration, which put the deal in place stateside immediately last summer.
However, relations with the EU soured when the US, under the guise of national security considerations, imposed tariffs on products with steel or aluminium content, something Brussels has frequently protested against.
Under the text of the agreement voted on in the European parliament on Tuesday, the European Commission will be able to suspend tariff preferences for US goods by 31 December 2026 if the US continues to apply tariffs on steel derivatives.
The commission will report to the parliament on the matter by 1 December.
By 30 June 2029, six months after Trump’s presidency is due to end, the commission is now also required by the parliament to conduct an assessment of the impact on EU industry of the 0% tariffs on US goods for agriculture and small- to medium-sized businesses.
MEPs suspended the ratification process twice this year through the international trade committee, first in protest against Trump’s threat to impose higher tariffs in January, and then over his threat take over Greenland.
Although the supreme court in the US has already ruled the 15% tariff at the heart of the deal is illegal, the EU agreed to maintain the agreement in an attempt to achieve stability for businesses and industry.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/16/european-parliament-finally-approves-trump-tariff-deal
In January–May 2026, Ukraine’s mining sector saw iron ore exports fall by 26.1 per cent compared with the same period in 2025, to 10.01 million tonnes. This is according to calculations by the GMK Centre based on data from the State Customs Service.
China has traditionally been the largest consumer of Ukrainian iron ore. During the period, shipments of raw materials to this destination totalled 5.1 million tonnes (-27.7% year-on-year). 1.58 million tonnes (-21% year-on-year) were shipped to Slovakia, and 1.19 million tonnes (-38.4% year-on-year) to Poland.
In May, Ukraine exported 2.24 million tonnes of iron ore, which is 3.5% more than in the previous month and 6.6% less than in May 2025. 1.37 million tonnes (+18.1% month-on-month; +30.8% y/y) of raw materials were shipped to China, 286.2 thousand tonnes (-11.2% m/m; –32.9% y/y), and 207.27 thousand tonnes (-9.6% m/m; -46.5% y/y) to Poland.
Revenue from raw material exports in May amounted to $153.95 million (-12.3% month-on-month; -14.9% year-on-year), and for January–May – $766.95 million (-28.6% year-on-year).
As a reminder, at the end of 2025, Ukraine reduced its iron ore exports by 8% compared with 2024 – to 30.99 million tonnes. China has traditionally been the largest importer of Ukrainian iron ore. During the period, shipments of raw materials to this destination totalled 16.41 million tonnes (+8.7% year-on-year). 4.4 million tonnes (-11.4% year-on-year) were shipped to Slovakia, and 4.17 million tonnes (-18.1% year-on-year) to Poland.
The main producers of iron ore in Ukraine are Ingulets Mining and Processing Plant, Kryvyi Rih Iron Ore Mining and Processing Plant, Poltava Mining and Processing Plant, Yeristove Mining and Processing Plant, Northern Mining and Processing Plant, Central Mining and Processing Plant, Southern Mining and Processing Plant, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Sukha Balka and Rudomain.
https://gmk.center/en/news/ukraine-saw-a-26-1-y-y-fall-in-iron-ore-exports-in-january-may/amp/
