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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Mining myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The owner of a Nevada lithium mining project is confident of finding a new investor despite a slump in the price of the metal, as it eyes a role in the push to build a domestic critical minerals industry in the US. Australia-based Ioneer is seeking a new partner to replace South Africa’s Sibanye-Stillwater, which pulled out of a deal to buy a 50 per cent stake in the Rhyolite Ridge…

The World Trade Organization is one of those multilateral institutions that US President Donald Trump’s administration loathes so much that it has suspended its financial support. But the president’s unilateral declaration of trade war on the world could give it a new lease of life, argues the WTO’s director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She says US behaviour — applying and lifting tariffs at will — has reminded the other 165 members of the importance of its rules-based system.  Especially important is the “most favoured nation” (MFN) principle, which means you commit to…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world Chinese carmakers expanding into Europe are being forced to readjust their short-term ambitions as tariff roadblocks have slowed product launches and made their electric vehicles less affordable. The rapid rise of Chinese-made electric vehicles — with their low pricing and advanced software features — has sparked protectionist measures in both the US and EU, with Brussels last year imposing tariffs of up to 45 per cent on EVs from…

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Chinese economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. China’s top economic officials said the country could do without American farm and energy imports as they vowed to achieve a 5 per cent GDP growth target for the year despite the trade war with the US.  Zhao Chenxin, vice chair of the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s state planner, said domestic farm and energy production, along with imports from non-US sources, would be more than enough to satisfy…

This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here Today’s agenda: China stockpiles oil; Trump criticises Putin; the era of autonomous strike drones; visual story on iPhone components; and “headphone dodgers” Good morning. We start the week with a look at how Donald Trump’s trade war, in particular his 145 per cent tariff on Chinese goods, has started to affect US ports and air…

The last time a smartphone factory opened in the US, it closed within a year. In 2013, Motorola announced it wanted to challenge the conventional wisdom that manufacturing in the US was too expensive. But 12 months later, the facility in Fort Worth, Texas, was shuttered because of disappointing sales and high costs. If Donald Trump has his way, Apple will be the next tech company to test the theory. The Trump administration wants the smartphone giant to have the iPhone manufactured in America instead of China, where most of…

The last time a smartphone factory opened in the US, it closed within a year. In 2013, Motorola announced it wanted to challenge the conventional wisdom that manufacturing in the US was too expensive. But 12 months later, the facility in Fort Worth, Texas, was shut down because of disappointing sales and high costs. If Donald Trump has his way, Apple will be the next tech company to test the theory. The Trump administration wants the smartphone giant to have the iPhone manufactured in America instead of China, where most…

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Climate change myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. China has rapidly scaled up sales of solar panels, batteries and other green energy technologies to emerging markets well ahead of the US tariff fight, latest data shows, with expectations it will surge further in its hunt for buyers. Emerging markets accounted for 43 per cent of Chinese clean tech exports in 2024, up from 24 per cent in 2022, in a sign of how the manufacturing powerhouse is seeking…