The United States, Japan, India and Australia have pledged to work together to ensure a stable supply of critical minerals, as worries grow over China’s dominance in resources vital to new technologies. The four countries said in a joint statement that they were establishing the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative, aimed at “collaborating on securing and diversifying” supply chains. They offered little detail but made clear the goal was to reduce reliance on China, which has used restrictions as leverage as the US in turn curbs its access to semiconductors and…
Tag: Marco Rubio
US state department told to terminate nearly all its overseas pro-democracy programs
The US state department has been advised to terminate grants to nearly all remaining programs awarded under the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), which would effectively end the department’s role in funding pro-democracy programming in some of the world’s most hostile totalitarian nations. The review could affect nearly $1.3bn in grants, three state department officials told the Guardian, citing briefings on the results of a Foreign Assistance Review produced by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Of 391 active grants, only two were not recommended to…
US will ‘aggressively’ revoke visas of Chinese students, Rubio says
President Donald Trump’s administration has said it will “aggressively” revoke visas of Chinese students, one of the largest sources of revenue for American universities, in the latest attack on US higher education. The announcement by secretary of state Marco Rubio came after China criticised his department’s decision a day earlier to suspend visa appointments for students worldwide at least temporarily. The Trump administration has already sought to end permission for all international students at Harvard University, which has rebuffed pressure from the president. The United States will “aggressively revoke visas…
Trump tariffs blocked by US federal trade court – US politics live
From 30m ago US trade court blocks Trump’s tariffs A federal trade court on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law. The ruling from a three-judge panel at the New York-based court of international trade came after several lawsuits arguing Trump has exceeded his authority, left US trade policy dependent on his whims and unleashed economic chaos. “The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs,” the court ruled,…
Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv sanctions three Chinese companies accused of helping Russia
Ukraine imposed sanctions on three Chinese companies on Friday, claiming they were involved in the production of advanced Iskander missiles. The sanctions list, which also includes Russian companies, names Beijing Aviation & Aerospace Xianghui Technology, Rui Jin Machinery and Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Xining, all registered in China. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on X: “Today, we have expanded our Ukrainian sanctions against nearly a hundred more entities – natural and legal persons – most of whom are involved in the production of such missiles – Iskanders – like those…