https://rbtfl.xyz/en/track/trade-rules Tariffs, subsidies, sanctions and export controls. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-july-trade-0807 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-july-trade-0807 Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's export growth reached 23% year-on-year in US dollar terms in July 2026, beating forecasts, while imports rose 27.5%; the trade surplus narrowed to US$112.5bn, still above estimates; CNBC and SCMP attributed the export surge to global demand for AI infrastructure components and high-tech shipments, alongside a rush to beat a new 12.5% US tariff that replaced a temporary 10% levy in July [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/drc-cobalt-copper-ban-0806 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/drc-cobalt-copper-ban-0806 Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Democratic Republic of Congo reinstated a ban on exports of copper concentrate and cobalt concentrate on August 6, blocking raw ore from leaving the country unprocessed; TRT Afrika described it as a major escalation of the DRC's drive to capture more mining value domestically; Crypto Briefing noted the ban also affects crypto miners who rely on cobalt-linked supply chains [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/fcc-tv-ownership-cap-0806 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/fcc-tv-ownership-cap-0806 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT The US Federal Communications Commission voted along party lines on August 6 to end the longstanding rule limiting any single company from owning broadcast TV stations reaching more than 39% of US households; Variety reported it as a win for Nexstar and other large broadcasters; NBC News said the move sets the stage for media industry consolidation; legal challenges are expected [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/mexico-avocado-michoacan-0806 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/mexico-avocado-michoacan-0806 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT The US Department of Agriculture suspended avocado verification and shipment from Mexico's Michoacán state on August 5 after armed groups threatened its on-the-ground inspectors; without US inspection, Mexican avocados cannot legally enter the US market; industry groups said the halt 'directly impacts' the inspection system, and Mexico's trade confederation Cocena framed the suspension as US pressure to force Mexico into compliance with USMCA obligations [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-us-tech-curbs-0806 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-us-tech-curbs-0806 Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A US Federal Communications Commission plan to bar next-generation Chinese optical modules from AI and data-centre networks is drawing Chinese condemnation, with Beijing's state press warning that Washington's bans on green energy and advanced manufacturing will backfire; the escalation comes as disputes over AI, robotics, and forced-labour claims mount ahead of a planned Xi Jinping visit to Washington in September [escalating] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/pakistan-iran-trade-0804 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/pakistan-iran-trade-0804 Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Pakistan and Iran held trade talks in Islamabad on August 4, reaffirming a target of US$10 billion in bilateral trade and saying the Pakistan-Iran Free Trade Agreement is progressing toward conclusion; Iran proposed expanding logistics through Pakistan's Karachi and Gwadar ports; Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq invited Iran's parliament speaker Bagher Ghalibaf to visit Islamabad [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-states-tariff-suit-0804 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-states-tariff-suit-0804 Wed, 05 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Twenty-five US states filed suit in the US Court of International Trade on August 3, asking the court to block the latest round of Section 301 tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on more than 80 trading partners; California's attorney general cited harm to consumers and businesses, and the states cited a recent US Supreme Court ruling in their challenge [contested-result] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-drone-countermeasures-0805 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-drone-countermeasures-0805 Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's commerce ministry announced export controls on drones to the United States and blacklisted six US entities on August 5, calling the measures a restrained response to US sanctions imposed over forced labor and national security concerns; Beijing warned that further countermeasures remain available as Washington had recently imposed fresh tariffs on China and 59 other countries [escalating] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-pmi-july-0731 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-pmi-july-0731 Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's official National Bureau of Statistics manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2 in July 2026, crossing below the 50-point expansion threshold in a contraction that analysts described as unexpected; the export rush that had powered China's second-quarter rebound began to unwind, domestic demand slumped, and typhoons disrupted activity; a day before the release, Chinese leadership signalled it would accelerate fiscal spending, adding pressure on Beijing to respond [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/morocco-throne-day-0730 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/morocco-throne-day-0730 Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT In his Throne Day address on July 30, Morocco's King Mohammed VI marked the 27th anniversary of his accession by framing political stability as a strategic export, outlining a vision for Morocco as an emerging industrial power driven by investment, and positioning the country as a diplomatic bridge between Africa, Europe and the Gulf. [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-robot-ban-0730 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-robot-ban-0730 Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's Commerce Ministry warned on July 30 that it will 'resolutely retaliate' if the US Federal Communications Commission presses ahead with a proposed ban on importing Chinese-made humanoid robots and power inverters; Beijing called the measure discriminatory and said it 'severely damages' bilateral relations, opening a new front in the US-China technology trade war [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-china-research-sanctions-0729 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-china-research-sanctions-0729 Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The US Defense Department last week banned research collaborations with 88 Chinese institutions, including Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, calling their work a threat to US national security; China's Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Commerce both condemned the move, with MOFCOM vowing 'necessary measures' to protect Chinese research institutions [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/mexico-vulcan-ruling-0728 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/mexico-vulcan-ruling-0728 Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT An international arbitration tribunal dismissed the bulk of US-based Vulcan Materials Company's US$1.5bn NAFTA claim against Mexico over the 2012 seizure and closure of Calica's limestone quarry in Quintana Roo; Mexico will pay roughly US$15mn, or 1% of the original claim, as environmental remediation compensation; Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said Vulcan still must clean up damage in the state [resolved] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/xi-slovakia-beijing-0728 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/xi-slovakia-beijing-0728 Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Slovak President Peter Pellegrini at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on July 28, the first state visit to China by a Slovak head of state; Xi asked Slovakia to play a constructive role in advancing China-EU relations, and China offered cooperation on AI and robotics as the wider EU-China trade relationship faces tariff friction [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-duv-lithography-0728 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-duv-lithography-0728 Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Citing The Information, Tom's Hardware and TrendForce reported on July 27-28 that an unnamed Chinese equipment maker has begun mass production of immersion deep-ultraviolet (DUV) lithography tools, a class of chipmaking machine that the Netherlands restricts from export to China; roughly five units are expected to be delivered to leading Chinese chipmakers SMIC, Hua Hong and CXMT in 2026, with about 20 planned for 2027 [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/honda-nissan-os-0727 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/honda-nissan-os-0727 Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Japan's Honda Motor and Nissan Motor have entered final-stage negotiations to co-develop an operating system that would serve as the core software platform for their next-generation vehicles, with an agreement targeted by the end of August 2026; the OS would enable over-the-air software updates and autonomous-driving feature additions in software-defined vehicles [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/colombia-us-tariff-0724 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/colombia-us-tariff-0724 Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A new US tariff on Colombian imports is exposing about 30% of Colombia's total US exports to higher costs, with flowers bearing the largest hit at nearly US$1.9 billion in annual shipments; Colombian flower growers and the incoming agriculture ministry are preparing support plans as the export sector warns of lost competitiveness [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-us-research-sanctions-0729 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-us-research-sanctions-0729 Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The US Pentagon moved to block research collaborations with 88 Chinese institutions, including top universities Fudan and others, citing national security concerns; China's Foreign Ministry and commerce regulator condemned the move on July 29 as unwarranted and vowed 'necessary measures' if the US does not reverse course, adding to a rapidly broadening US technology decoupling effort [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-russia-sanctions21-0723 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-russia-sanctions21-0723 Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The European Union's ambassadors agreed a 21st round of sanctions against Russia on July 23, 2026, after Greece secured a renewable 12-month carve-out exempting Greek shipping company Dynagas from new restrictions on transporting Russian liquefied natural gas to clients outside the EU, removing the final bloc to the package [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/mexico-us-tariffs-0723 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/mexico-us-tariffs-0723 Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met at Palacio Nacional in Mexico City on July 23 for around 90 minutes of USMCA review talks; Sheinbaum said talks are advancing but no public agreement on the threatened 10 percent US tariff was reached; Washington has tied any deal to water and border security conditions [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-forced-labor-tariffs-0724 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-forced-labor-tariffs-0724 Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The US on July 24 imposed new import duties of 10% or 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, including China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the EU and Thailand, citing those countries' failure to enforce bans on goods made with forced labor. A presidential memorandum signed July 23 invoked Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, replacing a prior tariff layer that expired at midnight. [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/brazil-us-tariff-effect-0722 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/brazil-us-tariff-effect-0722 Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A 25% US tariff on most Brazilian goods took effect on July 22, with the Lula government choosing not to retaliate immediately despite pressure from Vice President Alckmin and industry; Brazil's government says it sees no chance of negotiation before elections in both countries, and analysts note the tariffs are paradoxically strengthening President Lula against Flávio Bolsonaro in the upcoming Brazilian elections [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/nike-china-exit-0723 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/nike-china-exit-0723 Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Nike has terminated the online distribution agreement with Topsports International, its largest Chinese retail partner, effective January 1, 2027, as CEO Elliott Hill moves to reassert direct control over Nike's digital channels in China to curb discounting; Japan's Nikkei and China's Caixin frame the move as a strategic retreat from a key but weakening market amid trade tensions [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/farnborough-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/farnborough-2026 Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Airlines and leasing companies committed more than 300 aircraft in the first three days of the Farnborough International Airshow in Hampshire, England, with Boeing holding a narrow lead over Airbus and SMBC Aviation Capital accounting for 200 jets in a single split order [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/xi-us-visit-rubio-wang-0722 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/xi-us-visit-rubio-wang-0722 Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila on July 22; the talks covered a potential visit by President Xi Jinping to the United States, the Philippines-China clash at Ayungin Shoal, and shipping through international waterways; Rubio stressed the US sought dialogue despite differences [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/hormuz-bab-mandeb-closure-0722 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/hormuz-bab-mandeb-closure-0722 Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Tankers are turning back in the Red Sea after Yemen's Houthis threatened to enforce a blockade of the Bab al-Mandeb strait, while the Strait of Hormuz remains shut to commercial shipping as the US-Iran war continues; US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators the war has cost the United States US$37.5 billion so far, and Iranian forces have struck US military sites in the Gulf and Jordan [escalating] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/jordan-us-trade-deal-0722 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/jordan-us-trade-deal-0722 Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Jordan's Trade Minister and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer signed a reciprocal trade deal in Washington on July 21 after nearly a year of consultations; the agreement caps tariffs on Jordanian exports to the US at 10% and expands market access for both countries [resolved] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/ecb-rate-july23-preview https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/ecb-rate-july23-preview Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The European Central Bank meets on July 23 with markets pricing more than 99% probability of a hold; ECB President Christine Lagarde's post-meeting language will be watched closely for signals of a September rate increase as eurozone inflation stays above target [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/mexico-usmca-round3-0723 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/mexico-usmca-round3-0723 Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer arrived in Mexico City on July 23 for the third bilateral review round of the USMCA, meeting Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard and President Claudia Sheinbaum; Greer signalled the US will seek provisional arrangements with Mexico before end-2026 and said renewal of the agreement depends partly on Mexico's cooperation on water-sharing and border security [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/netherlands-settlement-ban-0721 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/netherlands-settlement-ban-0721 Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Tom Berendsen told parliament on July 21 that the Netherlands will unilaterally block goods from Israeli-occupied territories starting September 22, ahead of any EU-wide measure and despite acknowledgement that enforcement will be difficult [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/canada-trump-tariff-response-0722 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/canada-trump-tariff-response-0722 Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on July 21 that new US tariffs on Canadian goods violate the CUSMA trade agreement, while agreeing in a phone call with Trump to intensify trade discussions; Canadian provinces agreed to cut barriers on cross-provincial alcohol sales in a concession aimed at defusing Trump's latest move [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/nigeria-germany-talks-0721 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/nigeria-germany-talks-0721 Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Nigeria and Germany confirmed they will hold high-level bilateral talks covering trade expansion, security cooperation, and climate action, with Nigeria's foreign ministry describing the engagement as a push for deeper cooperation with Europe's largest economy [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/canada-us-tariff-50pct-0720 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/canada-us-tariff-50pct-0720 Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT US President Donald Trump on July 20 signed three proclamations under Section 338 of the Tariff Act imposing 50% tariffs on a wide range of Canadian exports, set to take effect in 30 days; the move extends to goods previously shielded by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, a sharp escalation of the ongoing trade dispute [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/jingye-britishsteel-0719 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/jingye-britishsteel-0719 Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Jingye Group, the Chinese company that formerly owned British Steel, demanded full compensation from the UK government for investment losses after the nationalization of the steelmaker last week, and threatened legal action; Jingye described the nationalization as forced [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-aliexpress-dsa-0720 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-aliexpress-dsa-0720 Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The European Commission issued a record €550 million (US$629 million) fine against Alibaba's AliExpress on July 20, the largest penalty yet under the Digital Services Act, for failing to remove illegal, unsafe and counterfeit products from its platform [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/canada-anand-pakistan-0720 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/canada-anand-pakistan-0720 Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand will arrive in Islamabad on Monday, July 20, at the invitation of Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and FM Ishaq Dar; the visit is the first by a Canadian foreign minister to Pakistan in 20 years and will focus on trade, investment, education and Indo-Pacific partnerships. [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/tata-india-fab-jul17 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/tata-india-fab-jul17 Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Tata Electronics will commission India's first semiconductor wafer fabrication plant using 90-nanometer process technology, Bloomberg and NewsBytesApp reported on July 17; the group chose mature-node processes, which cover power management chips, microcontrollers, and industrial electronics, to make its debut in domestic chip manufacturing [transition] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trump-canada-wildfire-jul17 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trump-canada-wildfire-jul17 Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT US President Donald Trump on July 17 accused Canada of 'willful negligence' in forest management and said the cost of pollution from Ontario wildfire smoke 'must' be added to existing tariffs on Canadian goods; Ontario Premier Doug Ford told Republican politicians to stop 'chirping' and send help as Canada had done for the US [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/tsmc-arizona-100b-jul16 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/tsmc-arizona-100b-jul16 Sun, 19 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company announced on July 16 that it will invest an additional US$100 billion in its Arizona fabrication facilities, lifting total US commitments to US$265 billion and representing what Phoenix officials called the largest direct investment from a foreign company in US history, announced alongside TSMC's record Q2 2026 results [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-rare-earth-iea-jul16 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-rare-earth-iea-jul16 Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The International Energy Agency said on July 16 that full implementation of China's rare earth export restrictions could disrupt US$6.5 trillion of downstream production outside China, covering sectors from electric vehicles to weapons systems, in the most comprehensive market-risk assessment yet of Beijing's 2025 export-control regime [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-modi-import-shield-jul16 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-modi-import-shield-jul16 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking active steps to cut India's reliance on key imports, aiming to protect supply chains and ease rupee pressure as global geopolitical risks escalate, according to reporting published July 16 [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trump-us-korea-shipbuilding-jul16 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trump-us-korea-shipbuilding-jul16 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT US President Donald Trump said on July 15 his administration would 'probably' look at South Korean and other companies for shipbuilding cooperation to strengthen the US Navy, signalling an opening for allied industrial partnerships in a sector where US domestic capacity has long lagged [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/greece-eu-lng-sanctions-jul17 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/greece-eu-lng-sanctions-jul17 Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Athens demanded an exemption from a proposed ban on transporting Russian LNG to third countries, to protect Dynagas, a Greek shipping company whose Arctic tankers would become stranded assets; other EU member states called the veto 'shameless.' [pending-decision] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/hungary-szijjarto-byd-jul15 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/hungary-szijjarto-byd-jul15 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Péter Szijjártó, Hungary's foreign minister for twelve years and architect of Budapest's China ties, announced on July 15 that he resigned his parliamentary seat to take an international executive role at BYD, the world's largest electric vehicle maker, ahead of BYD's planned production launch in Hungary [transition] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/nz-fiji-duavata-jul16 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/nz-fiji-duavata-jul16 Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Fiji's Foreign Affairs Minister Sakiasi Ditoka signed a refreshed Duavata Partnership in Auckland on July 16, setting cooperation priorities for 2026 to 2030 across five pillars and targeting NZ$2 billion in annual two-way trade by 2030 [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/chad-visa-free-africa-jul16 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/chad-visa-free-africa-jul16 Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Déby announced on July 15 at the African Water Forum in N'Djamena that Chad will eliminate entry visas for all African nationals starting January 1, 2027, making it one of a growing number of African Union member states scrapping intra-continental visa requirements [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/pacific-forum-aidtrade-jul15 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/pacific-forum-aidtrade-jul15 Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Pacific Islands Forum Trade Ministers have endorsed the Pacific Aid-for-Trade Strategy 2026-2030, committing the region to using trade to drive economic development and climate resilience, Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa announced [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/brazil-us-tariff-jul15 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/brazil-us-tariff-jul15 Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The US announced a 25% tariff on most Brazilian imports under Section 301, after a yearlong investigation concluded Brazil had engaged in unfair trade practices; a separate forced-labor probe could add 12.5% more within days; Brazil formally condemned the move and vowed to retaliate [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-gdp-q2-miss-jul15 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-gdp-q2-miss-jul15 Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Official data released July 15 showed year-on-year growth of 4.3% in the second quarter, missing analyst forecasts of 4.5% and falling below Beijing's 4.5%-5% full-year target range as investment slumped and domestic demand stayed weak [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/morocco-france-summit-jul15 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/morocco-france-summit-jul15 Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu completed a two-day visit to Rabat on July 15-16, signing 14 bilateral agreements on the economy, security, migration and defence and declaring France and Morocco ready to 'change scale' in their partnership, completing the first inter-governmental summit since 2019 [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trump-hormuz-fee-reversed-jul14 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trump-hormuz-fee-reversed-jul14 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT US President Donald Trump reversed his July 13 decision to impose a 20% levy on all cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz on July 14, announcing instead that Gulf states would make investment deals in the US, and declaring the strait open to all traffic except Iran; shipping companies and legal experts had called the toll plan legally baseless and economically counterproductive [disrupted] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trump-hormuz-levy-jul13 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trump-hormuz-levy-jul13 Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT US President Donald Trump on July 13 reimposed a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz and declared a 20% levy on all commercial cargo passing through the strait, calling the US the 'Guardian of the Strait'; ABC News reports the move erases the last concession in the preliminary Iran-US peace deal and inverts Iran's own earlier toll demands [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-vk-sanctions-jul13 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-vk-sanctions-jul13 Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The European Union on July 13 published sanctions in its Official Journal against VK Company, Russia's dominant social media platform, and its subsidiary Kommunikatsionnaya Platforma, the developer of the Max messaging app, citing cyberattacks, FSB ties, surveillance tools used against government critics, and support for the war in Ukraine; VK said its services remained available to users as normal [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-wb-settlement-trade-fac-jul13 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-wb-settlement-trade-fac-jul13 Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT EU foreign ministers in Brussels discussed three options, including an outright ban, to restrict goods from illegal West Bank settlements, but failed to find a qualified majority; legal classification disputes and member-state divisions blocked any decision at the July 13 Foreign Affairs Council meeting [pending-decision] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/paramount-wbd-states-lawsuit-jul13 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/paramount-wbd-states-lawsuit-jul13 Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A coalition of twelve US state attorneys general, led by California, filed an antitrust lawsuit on July 13 to block the proposed merger between Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal valued at around US$111 billion; the states argue the merger would harm theatrical distribution and cable channel licensing; the case could define US entertainment and media regulation for years [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/morocco-france-lecornu-jul16 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/morocco-france-lecornu-jul16 Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu visited Rabat on July 15-16, signing 14 bilateral agreements covering the economy, security, migration and defence, and declaring that France and Morocco are ready to 'change scale' in their partnership [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-nz-strategic-partner-jul11 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-nz-strategic-partner-jul11 Sun, 12 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT India's PM Narendra Modi and New Zealand's PM Christopher Luxon elevated bilateral relations to a strategic partnership at delegation-level talks in Auckland on July 11, producing 18 outcomes including a maritime cooperation framework, an India Navy and NZ Defence Force logistics agreement, and tighter defence ties covering naval exercises; the pact broadens the India-NZ free trade agreement struck earlier in the visit [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-uae-nvidia-chip-export-jul10 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-uae-nvidia-chip-export-jul10 Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The US government revised export control rules on July 10 to make it easier to export Nvidia AI chips, military equipment, and commercial satellites to the UAE without a licence, a significant loosening of the restrictions that have governed advanced chip transfers to Gulf states [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/gordie-howe-bridge-opening-jul10 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/gordie-howe-bridge-opening-jul10 Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Canada's federal government confirmed the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan will open July 27, after the US and Canada resolved a dispute that had caused the cancellation of a June ribbon-cutting; Canada is set to forgo more revenue than originally planned as part of the deal, which followed public criticism from US President Donald Trump [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-nz-modi-fta-jul10 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-nz-modi-fta-jul10 Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in New Zealand on July 10 for talks with PM Christopher Luxon, his first visit since 2011, with New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay describing the trip as 'a transformative moment in bilateral ties' following the signing of an India-New Zealand free trade agreement that makes 57% of New Zealand exports to India tariff-free on day one [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/malaysia-thailand-seafood-jul9 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/malaysia-thailand-seafood-jul9 Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim and Thai PM Anutin Charnvirakul met in Putrajaya on July 9 and resolved a fisheries row that had soured bilateral trade since May, when Thailand restricted Malaysian-caught sea bass over chemical residue concerns and Malaysia responded by banning some Thai shrimp varieties; they signed an agriculture MoU and agreed to develop a special border economic zone. [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/canada-carney-riyadh-0708 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/canada-carney-riyadh-0708 Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on July 9, the first visit by a Canadian leader to Saudi Arabia in 26 years; the two sides announced a partnership across trade, education, technology and critical minerals; a Canadian business leader called the outcome a high-water mark for Canada-Saudi relations [resolved] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/adnoc-skorea-crude-supply-jul8 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/adnoc-skorea-crude-supply-jul8 Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Abu Dhabi's state oil company ADNOC signed a strategic collaboration agreement with South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources on July 8, giving Seoul access to up to 24 million barrels of UAE crude and establishing joint emergency supply coordination and strategic storage cooperation [developing] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-west-bank-settlement-trade-ban-jul9 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-west-bank-settlement-trade-ban-jul9 Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The European Commission circulated a confidential options paper before a July 13 EU foreign ministers' meeting setting out mechanisms to restrict EU imports of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, ranging from partial labelling requirements to a total trade ban; EU foreign ministers had requested the paper at a June meeting. [pending-decision] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-brazil-tariffs-jul16 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-brazil-tariffs-jul16 Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The US plans to impose a 25% tariff on most Brazilian imports starting next week under Section 301, after a yearlong investigation found Brazil engaged in unfair trade practices; a separate US forced-labor probe could add another 12.5% on top, with a decision due within days [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-indonesia-brahmos-jul2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-indonesia-brahmos-jul2026 Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT India's PM Modi and Indonesia's President Prabowo signed a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile supply deal, an Astra air-to-air missile contract, and a Sabang Port access agreement on July 7, completing the largest defence package in the bilateral relationship [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/indonesia-cptpp-accession-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/indonesia-cptpp-accession-2026 Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Jakarta held its national accession dialogue on July 5 after CPTPP members launched the preparatory discussion process on June 26; Coordinating Minister Airlangga said Indonesia has aligned 22 of the pact's chapters with domestic law and is ready to advance to the accession working group stage [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/brazil-lula-bolsonaro-tariff-row https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/brazil-lula-bolsonaro-tariff-row Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Senator Flávio Bolsonaro sent a letter to the US Trade Representative on July 2 asking Trump to hold off proposed 25% tariffs until after Brazil's October presidential vote; President Lula fired back on X calling it an 'act of treason' [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/paraguay-itaipu-annexc-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/paraguay-itaipu-annexc-2026 Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Paraguay and Brazil failed to reach agreement on a revised Annex C electricity-sharing formula at the Mercosur summit in Asunción on 2 July 2026, despite a countdown to the expiry of the 2024 bridge tariff and the 2007 Operational Agreement; Paraguay's electricity utility ANDE has acknowledged the dual expiry will require a fundamentally new negotiating structure from January 2027 [pending-decision] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/ukraine-arms-exports-jul1 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/ukraine-arms-exports-jul1 Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Cabinet-approved mechanism lets manufacturers sell to 27 Drone Deal partner countries, provided domestic military supply is guaranteed first; 20% of proceeds go to a state defence-industrial fund [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-ecommerce-customs-duty-jul2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-ecommerce-customs-duty-jul2026 Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A new EU flat-rate customs duty took effect July 1, scrapping the exemption for parcels worth under €150 and directly targeting the business models of Temu, Shein and AliExpress, which together shipped 5.9 billion items into the EU in 2025 without paying customs [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-steel-safeguard-jul1 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-steel-safeguard-jul1 Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The European Union's toughest-ever steel import measure took effect July 1, cutting duty-free annual volumes to 18.3 million tonnes and raising out-of-quota tariffs from 25% to 50% through 2031 to shield EU producers from global overcapacity [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/germany-eu-mercosur-asuncion-jul1 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/germany-eu-mercosur-asuncion-jul1 Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Foreign Minister Wadephul made the commitment at the Asunción Mercosur summit; France and five others had previously opposed; the trade pillar has applied provisionally since May [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/marcos-carney-canada-visit-jul1 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/marcos-carney-canada-visit-jul1 Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and First Lady Araneta-Marcos departed Manila July 1 for a four-day visit focused on a bilateral Philippines-Canada FTA, critical minerals and defense ties; the last Philippine presidential visit to Ottawa was in 2015 [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/luxshare-hong-kong-ipo-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/luxshare-hong-kong-ipo-2026 Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Apple AirPods and iPhone assembler prices up to 383.5m H-shares at HK$63.28; Temasek, GIC and Abu Dhabi's ADIA lead ~US$1.5bn in cornerstones; trading July 9 [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/google-pricerunner-sweden-antitrust-jul1 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/google-pricerunner-sweden-antitrust-jul1 Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stockholm's Patent and Market Court awarded 14.3 billion SEK in damages, grounded in the EU Commission's 2017 self-preferencing finding, giving the 15-year-old case its first concrete damages outcome [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/pentagon-1260h-alibaba-tencent-lobbyists-jun29 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/pentagon-1260h-alibaba-tencent-lobbyists-jun29 Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Section 851 of the FY2025 NDAA bars the Defense Department from contracting with companies whose lobbyists also represent any of 188 Pentagon-listed Chinese military firms; Alibaba lost five DC lobbying firms and Tencent four as the prohibition activates June 30 [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-rare-earth-enforcement-jul2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-rare-earth-enforcement-jul2026 Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A MOFCOM announcement effective July 1 opens a hotline and web portal for individuals and companies to report unauthorised rare-earth and dual-use material exports, with cash rewards for confirmed tips. It is the most direct enforcement escalation of Beijing's 2025 export-control regime. [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/sweden-ukraine-gripen-e-jun30 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/sweden-ukraine-gripen-e-jun30 Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Ukraine formally contracted 16 new-build Saab Gripen E multirole aircraft on 30 June 2026 in a SEK 24.6bn deal financed through an EU loan facility, with deliveries due 2029-2030, and Sweden simultaneously pledged 16 used Gripen C/D jets from its active air force for earlier handover [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-de-minimis-july1-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-de-minimis-july1-2026 Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A €3 flat customs duty per item takes effect on Tuesday on all low-value parcels entering the bloc from outside; Chinese platforms had already shifted to EU warehousing ahead of the deadline [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-japan-dual-use-blacklist-jun29 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-japan-dual-use-blacklist-jun29 Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Beijing's MOFCOM Notice 2026 No. 28 adds Japan's National Institute for Defense Studies, Mitsubishi Precision, and 18 others to an outright export ban, while 20 more, including Terra Drone and Mitsui E&S, go to a mandatory risk-assessment watchlist, in direct retaliation for PM Takaichi's Taiwan military comments [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/chinalco-namibia-cobalt-jun29 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/chinalco-namibia-cobalt-jun29 Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's state-owned aluminium giant secured the Opuwo cobalt project in north-west Namibia, adding to Beijing's accelerating battery-metals sweep across southern Africa as the Iran war reshapes EV supply-chain risk calculus [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-pmi-jun30 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-pmi-jun30 Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT NBS data released Tuesday show the official gauge at 50.3, beating the 50.1 forecast and up from 50.0 in May; new export orders returned to expansion at 50.1 after three months of contraction, and the high-tech sub-index reached 53.5, driven by AI-related demand [stable] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-china-october-reset-jun29 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-china-october-reset-jun29 Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Brussels and Beijing agreed on June 29 to a structured October dialogue aimed at resolving the electric-vehicle tariff dispute and a widening range of trade grievances, with both sides framing the window as the last realistic opportunity before European political cycles foreclose options [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-somalia-visa-curbs-jun29 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-somalia-visa-curbs-jun29 Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT EU justice ministers formally imposed restrictions on Somali nationals on June 29, ending eligibility for multi-entry Schengen visas, extending processing times to 45 days, and reinstating passport fees for diplomats; irregular Somali arrivals in Europe rose 100% in 2024-2025 and Mogadishu has refused to accept rejected asylum seekers [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/fcc-legacy-chinese-tech-ban-jun29 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/fcc-legacy-chinese-tech-ban-jun29 Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The US communications regulator voted on June 29 to close a 'legacy loophole', requiring carriers to remove older Huawei and ZTE infrastructure installed before 2019 that had been excluded from prior ban orders, with reimbursement funds proving insufficient to cover full replacement costs [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/vietnam-carbon-exchange-jun29 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/vietnam-carbon-exchange-jun29 Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Hanoi Stock Exchange begins pilot trading for 110 industrial facilities covering thermal power, steel, and cement , 511 million tCO2e allocated for 2025-2026, first-day price around $5 per tonne [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/sintra-lagarde-framework-jun29 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/sintra-lagarde-framework-jun29 Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Christine Lagarde used the ECB's annual Sintra forum on June 29 to declare that the bank had returned to its core mandate of price stability through the interest rate alone, abandoning forward guidance and committing to a new 'framework guidance' model that gives markets less advance signalling [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/korea-hormuz-vessels-clearing-jun27 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/korea-hormuz-vessels-clearing-jun27 Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT With Saturday's clearances, 23 of the 26 South Korean-linked ships stranded since February have exited the strait; HMM Namu is undergoing hull repairs in Dubai after taking an Iranian missile hit; 43 Korean seafarers remain in the zone [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/cptpp-indonesia-philippines-uae-jun26 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/cptpp-indonesia-philippines-uae-jun26 Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Commission begins preparatory compliance discussions with three new applicants, extending the Indo-Pacific trade pact into the Gulf and deepening it in Southeast Asia [pending-decision] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-employment-plan-jun25 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-employment-plan-jun25 Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The NPC Standing Committee approved a stand-alone employment plan targeting 12 million jobs a year; alongside it, Beijing published a 47-page governance manifesto built around sovereign equality and multilateralism [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/brent-crude-iran-recovery https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/brent-crude-iran-recovery Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Brent settled at $71.99 on June 26, its lowest since late February, before war-risk buyers stepped in after IRGC drone strikes on Bahrain and a second Hormuz tanker hit on June 27 [easing] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/mercosur-summit-argentina-us-deal-friction-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/mercosur-summit-argentina-us-deal-friction-2026 Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Asunción hosts a bloc split three ways: Argentina's Washington pact and CPTPP bid, Venezuela's re-entry, and a stalled EU agreement [stalemate] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/apple-price-hike-memory-jun25 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/apple-price-hike-memory-jun25 Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT MacBook Neo rises $100 to $699, MacBook Air rises $200 to $1,299; Apple says memory and storage prices jumped faster than the company has ever seen, driven by AI data-centre appetite outcompeting consumer hardware [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-ukraine-support-loan-jun25 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-ukraine-support-loan-jun25 Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The European Commission began drawing down its two-year, 90-billion-euro loan to Kyiv on June 25, with a separate first instalment of a six-billion-euro drone-procurement package to follow within days [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/iraq-opec-exit-threat-jun25 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/iraq-opec-exit-threat-jun25 Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The oil ministry said a decision 'will have to be made' on membership unless Iraq gets a higher output ceiling; officials reversed course within hours, calling it unofficial [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/middle-corridor-volume-crisis-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/middle-corridor-volume-crisis-2026 Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Trans-Caspian cargo fell to 4.12m tons in 2025 even as Kazakhstan wins a $846m World Bank guarantee to break bottlenecks [contested-result] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/polestar-us-ban-connected-vehicle-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/polestar-us-ban-connected-vehicle-2026 Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Commerce Department denied Polestar authorisation on June 25, citing its inability to isolate Geely Group software from its connected-vehicle systems; Volvo Cars, same Chinese parent, was approved in May because it manufactures in South Carolina with a separate software stack [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/summer-davos-dalian-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/summer-davos-dalian-2026 Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of New Champions concluded June 25 in Dalian; Chinese Premier Li Qiang held bilateral talks with South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on trade normalisation and AI cooperation, the first Korean PM at the forum in a decade [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/tarique-beijing-china-mou-jun25 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/tarique-beijing-china-mou-jun25 Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Rahman's first state visit since winning February's election pivots Dhaka toward Beijing with trade, investment and infrastructure agreements; Xi meeting on June 26 confirmed the relationship reset [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/ukraine-recovery-conference-gdansk-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/ukraine-recovery-conference-gdansk-2026 Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Zelensky absent over the White Eagle row; PM Svyrydenko led Ukraine's delegation; von der Leyen delivered the opening EU disbursement from a €90B loan; energy and transport pacts dominate the deal sheet [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-ustr-forced-labor-tariffs-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-ustr-forced-labor-tariffs-2026 Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The new 301-style investigation piles on top of the 30% baseline tariffs agreed in the June 11 deal and introduces a human-rights-based trade mechanism that Brussels and Ottawa find difficult to oppose [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/copper-comex-tariff-squeeze-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/copper-comex-tariff-squeeze-2026 Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT US warehouses hoard 652,000 tonnes while LME stocks drain into a three-month low [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/refined-copper-232-review-deadline-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/refined-copper-232-review-deadline-2026 Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Commerce must brief Trump on refined copper by month-end; a recommended 15% then 30% duty would reroute metal away from Chile, the DRC and Zambia [pending-decision] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/afcfta-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/afcfta-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The AU's single-market framework spanning 54 African countries, 1.4 billion people and a combined GDP of US$3.4 trillion, with trading operational since January 2021. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/aluminium-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/aluminium-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Critical industrial metal: China controls 57% of global smelting capacity, Guinea's bauxite dominance and Russia's Rusal sanctions keep aluminium supply chains under active geopolitical pressure in 2026. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/asml-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/asml-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT ASML, the Dutch company that makes every EUV chip-printing machine sold worldwide, is the central chokepoint in global semiconductor supply chains and a flashpoint in US-China technology competition. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/baltic-dry-index-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/baltic-dry-index-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The London Baltic Exchange's daily benchmark for shipping dry bulk commodities is the market's clearest real-time signal of global trade demand, with no speculative content. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/belt-and-road-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/belt-and-road-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's state-led infrastructure and investment programme, launched in 2013, spanning 140-plus countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/chip-controls-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/chip-controls-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT US Bureau of Industry and Security restrictions, in force since 2022, limit sales of advanced semiconductors and chipmaking equipment to China, determining who can build AI at scale. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/claudia-sheinbaum-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/claudia-sheinbaum-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Mexico's first female president, a climate scientist turned Morena politician who took office October 2024 and now drives the USMCA review and cartel crackdown. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/cma-cgm-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/cma-cgm-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT France-based CMA CGM is the world's third-largest container carrier by capacity, controlling ~12% of global box shipping and shaping freight rates on every major trade lane. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/cmoc-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/cmoc-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's CMOC Group supplies roughly one-third of global cobalt from its DRC mines, making it the dominant actor in battery-metal supply chains and a flashpoint in US-China resource competition. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/copper-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/copper-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The most-used industrial metal after steel, copper underpins every electric grid, EV, and clean-energy system, making Chile, the DRC, and Peru the indispensable suppliers to a decarbonising world. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/cosco-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/cosco-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's state-owned shipping giant, the world's largest carrier by fleet capacity, controls ports across six continents and is central to US-China competition over maritime infrastructure. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/cptpp-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/cptpp-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A 12-member Indo-Pacific free trade pact built on the US-abandoned Trans-Pacific Partnership, covering roughly 15% of global GDP and now expanding to Europe and the Gulf. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-china-trade-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-china-trade-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The European Union and China's €730 billion annual goods trade relationship, contested on electric vehicles, rare earths, and strategic supply chains as both sides de-risk without decoupling. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/gallium-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/gallium-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A byproduct metal China produces at 98% of global supply, gallium is essential for military radar and 5G power chips, making it a lever in US-China export control disputes. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/germanium-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/germanium-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Minor semiconductor metalloid recovered from zinc smelting, essential to fiber optics and infrared military optics; China controls roughly 60% of global refined output and imposed export controls in 2023. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/glencore-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/glencore-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Switzerland-based Glencore, one of the world's largest commodity traders and miners, dominates global cobalt supply and is central to Western strategies to secure critical minerals from the DRC. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/global-gateway-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/global-gateway-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The European Union's flagship overseas infrastructure programme, launched in 2021 as a rules-based alternative to China's Belt and Road Initiative. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/guinea-bauxite-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/guinea-bauxite-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Guinea holds the world's largest bauxite reserves and supplies roughly three-quarters of China's imports, making it a critical chokepoint in the global aluminium supply chain. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/hapag-lloyd-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/hapag-lloyd-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd AG is Germany's largest container line and the world's fifth-largest, whose fleet routing decisions at Suez and Hormuz transmit directly into global freight costs. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/huayou-cobalt-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/huayou-cobalt-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's most vertically integrated cobalt-to-cathode company, spanning Democratic Republic of Congo mining and Indonesian nickel HPAL to battery materials for global EV makers. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/indonesia-nickel-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/indonesia-nickel-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Indonesia holds 42% of global nickel reserves and produces roughly 60% of world supply, giving Jakarta decisive leverage over the EV battery supply chain. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/iran-sanctions-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/iran-sanctions-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The interlocking US, UN, and EU sanctions regimes imposed on Iran since 1979 are the primary mechanism constraining Iran's oil revenues, nuclear program, and weapons procurement, shaping Middle East geopolitics and global energy markets. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/lula-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/lula-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Brazil's three-term president and declared 2026 fourth-term candidate who shaped Latin American labor politics and social policy over five decades. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/maersk-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/maersk-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Denmark's A.P. Møller - Mærsk is the world's second-largest container carrier and the industry's bellwether for how chokepoints, freight rates, and logistics integration interact. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/mercosur-eu-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/mercosur-eu-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The EU–South America free-trade deal signed January 2026 after 25 years of negotiation, covering 700 million people and a quarter of world GDP, provisionally applied since May 2026. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/micron-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/micron-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Micron Technology (Boise, Idaho) is the only major US memory manufacturer, holding around 21% of global HBM capacity as AI-driven demand rewrites the semiconductor supply chain. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/middle-corridor-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/middle-corridor-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The 7,000-km Trans-Caspian freight corridor linking China to Europe through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia is the only east-west route bypassing both Russia and Iran. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/msc-shipping-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/msc-shipping-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The world's largest container carrier by fleet capacity, privately held in Geneva, Switzerland, and a bellwether for how chokepoint crises transmit into global freight costs. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/norinco-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/norinco-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's largest state-owned arms and ordnance conglomerate, under US sanctions since 2003, whose 31% revenue fall in 2024 exposed the limits of Beijing's weapons-export ambitions. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/nornickel-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/nornickel-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Russia's largest mining company and the world's dominant palladium producer, whose Arctic ore bodies and sanctions exposure make it a structural variable in global critical-mineral supply chains. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/north-korea-sanctions-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/north-korea-sanctions-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The UN and US-led regime of arms embargoes, export bans, and asset freezes on the DPRK, degraded since Russia's 2024 veto killed the UN monitoring arm. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/nvidia-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/nvidia-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The US GPU designer whose chips run more than 90% of global AI model training, making it the world's most strategically contested semiconductor company. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/palladium-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/palladium-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A platinum-group metal supplying roughly 85% of gasoline-catalytic-converter demand globally; Russia's Nornickel controls 40% of world output, making palladium a geopolitically exposed critical mineral. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/palm-oil-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/palm-oil-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The world's most-produced vegetable oil, grown primarily in Indonesia and Malaysia, underpins global food prices, biofuel mandates, and a deforestation dispute with the EU. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/panama-canal-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/panama-canal-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The 80-kilometre lock canal across Panama's Isthmus connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, carrying roughly 5% of global seaborne trade and a quarter of all US container traffic. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/peoples-bank-of-china-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/peoples-bank-of-china-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's central bank since 1984, the PBoC sets benchmark rates for the world's second-largest economy and manages the renminbi, moving global bond and currency markets. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/pgi-g7-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/pgi-g7-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The G7's flagship infrastructure initiative, launched 2022 to channel US$600bn into emerging markets as a values-driven counter to China's Belt and Road. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/rcep-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/rcep-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Asia-Pacific trade pact linking 15 nations, including China, Japan and South Korea in the same bloc for the first time, covering roughly 30 percent of global GDP. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/rhodium-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/rhodium-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The rarest platinum-group metal and the catalyst that strips NOx from vehicle exhaust; over 80% mined in South Africa's Bushveld Complex. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/rice-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/rice-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The world's primary caloric staple, feeding over 3.5 billion people; Indian export policy and Asian monsoon outcomes set the price that importing nations across Africa and Asia pay. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/rusal-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/rusal-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Russia's UC Rusal controls roughly 6% of global primary aluminium output and holds key European refining assets, making it central to EU sanctions and critical-minerals supply debates. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/russia-sanctions-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/russia-sanctions-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The multi-jurisdictional package of US, EU, and G7 financial, trade, and personal restrictions targeting Russia following its February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/smelting-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/smelting-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The pyrometallurgical step that turns mineral concentrate into tradeable metal, smelting is where mining nations contest China's 51% share of global copper smelting to capture processing margin. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/smic-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/smic-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's largest domestic chip foundry, blocked from EUV lithography by the US Entity List since 2020, now producing 7nm chips for Huawei's AI and mobile programs. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/soy-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/soy-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The world's most-traded oilseed, produced mainly in Brazil, the US, and Argentina, and the protein backbone of global livestock feed and biofuel supply chains. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/sugar-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/sugar-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A globally traded bulk sweetener sourced from sugarcane and sugar beet; supply shocks from Brazil and India set food-import costs across South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trade-rules-blocs-deals-backgrounder https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trade-rules-blocs-deals-backgrounder Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The WTO and four regional trade blocs together write the rules for goods, services, and investment across most of world trade, from the Pacific to sub-Saharan Africa. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trade-rules-industrial-policy-backgrounder https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trade-rules-industrial-policy-backgrounder Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Governments worldwide are deploying trillions in subsidies and tax credits to back favoured industries, straining WTO rules and triggering retaliatory spending races across clean energy, semiconductors, and critical minerals. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trade-rules-sanctions-export-controls-backgrounder https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trade-rules-sanctions-export-controls-backgrounder Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Five interlocking regimes that cut governments, entities, and individuals off from finance, trade, and technology; the primary pressure instruments short of military force. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trade-rules-tariff-fronts-backgrounder https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trade-rules-tariff-fronts-backgrounder Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Six active US-led tariff confrontations, from the US-China axis to the US-Brazil standoff, are redrawing supply chains and testing every major economy's alignment. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-brazil-trade-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-brazil-trade-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The largest US bilateral trade corridor in South America, worth US$127.6 billion in 2024, is under acute strain from Trump-era tariffs and a June 2026 USTR Section 301 action. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-china-trade-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-china-trade-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The United States and China's bilateral trade relationship totaled over US$650 billion in goods and services in 2024, making it the highest-stakes commercial axis in global great-power competition. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-eu-trade-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-eu-trade-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The world's largest bilateral trade corridor linking the US and European Union, with over US$1 trillion in annual goods trade and a history of repeated tariff disputes. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-india-trade-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-india-trade-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The US and India run more than US$230 billion in annual two-way trade, with tariff negotiations and a July 2026 deadline shaping both economies' strategic alignment. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/usmca-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/usmca-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The trilateral trade agreement governing roughly US$1.8 trillion in annual North American commerce, currently under a decade of annual reviews after the US declined to extend it in July 2026. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/venezuela-sanctions-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/venezuela-sanctions-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The US-led multilateral sanctions regime targeting Venezuela's government and state oil company PDVSA, now in partial rollback after Maduro's January 2026 capture. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/wto-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/wto-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Geneva-based intergovernmental body that governs trade rules for 166 member governments, under strain from a US-blocked appellate system and US budget arrears as of mid-2026. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/zimbabwe-lithium-dossier https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/zimbabwe-lithium-dossier Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Zimbabwe holds some of the world's largest hard-rock lithium reserves and is Africa's first exporter of domestically refined lithium sulphate, driven by Chinese capital and a mandatory processing policy. https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-us-interim-trade-deadline-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-us-interim-trade-deadline-2026 Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Goyal and Greer report 'substantial progress' but leave key issues open before the tariff snap-back [pending-decision] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/indonesia-nickel-rkab-ceiling-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/indonesia-nickel-rkab-ceiling-2026 Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT With RKAB approvals maxed out, the mid-year supplementary round becomes the whole market [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/anthropic-alibaba-claude-distillation https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/anthropic-alibaba-claude-distillation Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT 28.8 million fraudulent exchanges through 25,000 fake accounts extracted Claude's software-engineering and agentic-reasoning capabilities for Alibaba's Qwen lab [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/kazakh-eu-brussels-deals-jun25 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/kazakh-eu-brussels-deals-jun25 Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Thirty commercial agreements close during Tokayev's Brussels visit; Astana offers 21 of the EU's 34 critical raw materials and the two sides initial a visa facilitation deal [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/netherlands-asml-match-act-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/netherlands-asml-match-act-2026 Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Dutch Trade Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma travelled to Washington on 24 June 2026 to lobby US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Congress members against the MATCH Act, which would grant the US authority to determine what partner-country companies may ship to China; ASML reported a China share of 19% of system sales in Q1 2026, down from 36% the previous quarter [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/antimony-tungsten-controls-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/antimony-tungsten-controls-2026 Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's controls on antimony created ongoing shortages a year on; tungsten hit $450/MTU and the US banned Chinese tungsten from defence procurement from January 2027. Almonty's Sangdong Phase 1 in South Korea targets 40% of ex-China supply [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-618-consumer-slowdown-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-618-consumer-slowdown-2026 Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Syntun data showed gross merchandise value of 934 billion CNY, up 4% against 15.2% growth in 2025; May retail sales fell 0.6%, the first contraction since 2022; shoppers rejected AI-delegated purchasing despite platforms pushing it [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/scotus-exxon-cuba-ruling https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/scotus-exxon-cuba-ruling Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Supreme Court's Helms-Burton ruling waives sovereign immunity for Cuban state companies; Exxon's claim exceeds $1 billion, opening the door to a wave of expropriation suits [stable] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-rare-earth-controls https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-rare-earth-controls Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Beijing adds 10 US firms June 22; MOFCOM Announcement No. 26 (June 24, effective July 1) adds whistleblower rewards for illegal exports; Mineral Resources Law in force June 15 [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/iran-oil-sanctions-relief https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/iran-oil-sanctions-relief Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT General License X resumes Iranian crude exports with banking, insurance and shipping cover after the Hormuz reopening [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/tsmc-arizona-acceleration-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/tsmc-arizona-acceleration-2026 Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Four US fabs fully booked, second Arizona fab pulls 3nm tool-install into Q3 2026; full-year revenue guided up >30% on AI demand still outpacing supply [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/asml-euv-china-components-dispute https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/asml-euv-china-components-dispute Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Lutnick alleges EUV-related components and transport gear reached China; ASML insists no system or EUV-specific part was ever delivered, as BIS enforcement looms [contested-result] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/cobre-panama-restart-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/cobre-panama-restart-2026 Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT SGS delivered the government-commissioned audit on June 19; Panama is expected to rule on full mine restart after a June deadline, with 330,000t/year of global supply still offline since 2023 [pending-decision] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/vdl-china-trade-deficit-eu-summit-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/vdl-china-trade-deficit-eu-summit-2026 Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Every EU member now runs a deficit with Beijing; leaders weigh a 'menu' of trade measures [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/asean-russia-kazan-summit https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/asean-russia-kazan-summit Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT At a 35th-anniversary summit in Kazan, ASEAN and Russia adopt four cooperation documents; the Philippines' Marcos co-chairs even as he leans on Washington [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/intel-14a-apple-foundry-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/intel-14a-apple-foundry-2026 Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Tan calls 2026 an 'execution year': 18A in high-volume manufacturing, a preliminary Apple foundry deal, but zero fully committed external 14A customers [transition] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-us-trade-pact-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-us-trade-pact-2026 Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT First leaders' talks in 16 months order a 'commercially meaningful' deal; USTR Greer flies to Delhi as a July 24 tariff cliff looms and Congress cries appeasement [pending-decision] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-uk-fta-jul15-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-uk-fta-jul15-2026 Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Both governments announced on June 17 that their landmark Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, signed in July 2025, will take effect on July 15, 2026; India immediately cuts tariffs on 90% of UK goods and the UK on 99% of Indian goods, with bilateral trade forecast to rise by £25.5 billion annually [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-us-trade-deal-parliament-vote-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-us-trade-deal-parliament-vote-2026 Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT 'A deal is a deal', MEPs approve the Turnberry framework while warning it is unbalanced [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/xi-myanmar-min-aung-hlaing-visit https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/xi-myanmar-min-aung-hlaing-visit Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT 21-gun salute for Min Aung Hlaing, a 'shared future' joint statement, RMB–kyat settlement and Kyaukpyu, Beijing legitimises a ballot that barred the opposition [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/smic-7nm-double-ascend-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/smic-7nm-double-ascend-2026 Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's lead foundry scales N+2 output for Ascend 910C/910D as Huawei targets ~600k dies; HBM and yields, not lithography, are now the bottleneck [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/sheinbaum-usmca-review-china-test https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/sheinbaum-usmca-review-china-test Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Mexico dodged Trump's reciprocal tariffs; now the July 1 joint review turns on whether it can keep China out of North America's supply chain [pending-decision] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/ivory-coast-abidjan-lagos-highway https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/ivory-coast-abidjan-lagos-highway Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT ALCoMA, the management authority for the 1,028km six-lane highway linking Abidjan to Lagos across five countries, inducted its first board of directors in February 2026 and appointed Beninois economist Wilfried Lauriano do Rego as chair in June [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/turkey-saudi-hejaz-railway-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/turkey-saudi-hejaz-railway-2026 Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Transport ministers in Riyadh signed two memoranda of understanding on June 9 for railway and logistics cooperation along a revived Hejaz Railway route; the feasibility study is due by year-end and completion is targeted in three to four years [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-dram-antitrust-probe-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-dram-antitrust-probe-2026 Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Beijing investigates memory pricing, fines could reach $2.5B, while domestic champion CXMT files for a $4.2B IPO and nears third-largest by wafer capacity [pending-decision] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/usmca-non-renewal https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/usmca-non-renewal Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Washington forgoes the joint extension, leaving ~$2 trillion in North American trade under prolonged uncertainty [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-steel-safeguard-july2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-steel-safeguard-july2026 Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The EU's steel safeguard measure, in place since 2018, expires June 30 and is replaced by a new overcapacity regulation that cuts duty-free import quotas to 18.3 million tonnes per year and raises the out-of-quota duty from 25% to 50%; South Korea, China, and Taiwan are the most exposed exporters [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/ustr-brazil-section301-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/ustr-brazil-section301-2026 Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The US Trade Representative determined Brazil's acts on digital trade, deforestation, IP and ethanol access burden US commerce; the proposed 25% tariff covers most Brazilian goods with 1,600+ HTS exemptions; President Lula called it unjustified and threatened retaliation [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/lula-trump-tariff-standoff https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/lula-trump-tariff-standoff Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A 30-day deadline lapses, Washington moves on a 25% levy, and Lula readies a retaliation law months before facing Flávio Bolsonaro [escalating] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trump-forced-labor-301-tariffs https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trump-forced-labor-301-tariffs Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT After the Supreme Court voided IEEPA tariffs, Section 301 becomes the new, uncapped lever against China, India, the EU and dozens more [pending-decision] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/cmoc-tfm-strike-quota-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/cmoc-tfm-strike-quota-2026 Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The DRC set CMOC's 2026 cobalt export quota at 31,200 tonnes against 117,549 tonnes produced in 2025; a June 1 work stoppage at TFM raises copper output risk as CMOC guides 760-820 kt for the year [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/gallium-germanium-bifurcation-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/gallium-germanium-bifurcation-2026 Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's domestic gallium price is $246/kg; the Western spot price is nine times higher. Germanium's equivalent gap is 130%. A US-China trade truce suspended the US-specific ban until November 2026 but left the licensing regime intact [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/guinea-bauxite-quota-june-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/guinea-bauxite-quota-june-2026 Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The June 2026 export cap arrives as bauxite prices sit 50% below early-2025 peaks; Axis International filed a $28.9B World Bank arbitration after permit revocation; 75% of China's bauxite imports originate in Guinea [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trump-metals-tariff-revamp https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/trump-metals-tariff-revamp Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A 1 June proclamation cuts farm-equipment duties and rewards high US material content, building a new tariff wall [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/hungary-eu-funds-unlocked-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/hungary-eu-funds-unlocked-2026 Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Brussels unfroze nearly all aid suspended under Viktor Orbán on 29 May 2026 after Péter Magyar's Tisza government fulfilled anti-corruption commitments, joined the European Public Prosecutor's Office, and dropped Hungary's veto on an EU loan to Ukraine [transition] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/albania-eu-ibar-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/albania-eu-ibar-2026 Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The EU Council formally approved Albania's Interim Benchmark Assessment Report for Chapters 23 and 24 at the eighth Intergovernmental Conference on 26 May 2026, making Albania only the second candidate country after Montenegro to clear this gate; EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos said Albania has 'officially transitioned into the concluding phase' of accession talks [transition] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-palm-oil-import-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-palm-oil-import-2026 Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT India imports 60% of its edible oils and depends on Indonesia and Malaysia for 84% of its palm oil supply; a May 2026 Indonesian decree to route all palm oil exports through a single state-owned entity restructures the trade and raises supply risk [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/rusal-aughinish-eu-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/rusal-aughinish-eu-2026 Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT OCCRP and Irish Times reporting in May-June 2026 documented that alumina from Rusal's Irish refinery was flowing back to Russia; the Irish Taoiseach resisted closure citing 1,000 jobs, while Belgium's foreign minister pushed for EU action [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-sugar-export-ban-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-sugar-export-ban-2026 Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT DGFT moved raw, white, and refined sugar to the 'prohibited' category on May 13, 2026, after two consecutive seasons of consumption outpacing production and ethanol diversion cutting net output [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/lula-eu-meat-ban-g7-lobbying https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/lula-eu-meat-ban-g7-lobbying Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Brussels bans Brazilian meat, poultry and honey from September over growth-promoter use, weeks after Mercosur-EU took provisional effect [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/paraguay-pena-taiwan-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/paraguay-pena-taiwan-2026 Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Paraguay President Santiago Peña met Taiwan President Lai Ching-te in Taipei on 8 May 2026 and signed agreements on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, cybersecurity cooperation, and a Sovereign AI and Computing Infrastructure Investment MOU envisioning a phased computing campus reaching 1 gigawatt; Taiwan simultaneously opened its market to Paraguayan poultry exports [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/guinea-ega-bauxite-settlement https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/guinea-ega-bauxite-settlement Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A May 6 agreement definitively resolved GAC's suspension; CBG resumes bauxite supply to EGA's Al Taweelah alumina refinery; Guinea's Nimba Mining Company takes over the Sangarédi project assets [easing] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/drc-cobalt-quota-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/drc-cobalt-quota-2026 Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Kinshasa replaced its 2025 export ban with strict annual caps; cobalt hit $57,320/t, but artisanal miners largely escape the ceiling [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/ndpr-price-surge-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/ndpr-price-surge-2026 Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's April 2025 export controls on seven heavy REEs drove a scarcity premium that sent NdPr from $53/kg in January to $137/kg at end-April, with European ex-China prices reaching six times Chinese domestic levels [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-rice-exports-record-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-rice-exports-record-2026 Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT After a 14-month ban on non-basmati white rice exports that rattled global food markets in 2023-24, India progressively lifted all major restrictions; FY2025-26 exports are now forecast at 24 million tonnes, a record, and global prices are down 35% [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/nornickel-murmansk-china-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/nornickel-murmansk-china-2026 Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The EU's 20th sanctions package closed one export channel but Global Witness found gaps; Q1 2026 palladium output fell 10-11%; Nornickel is negotiating a 2Mt/year copper concentrate JV with Xiamen C&D [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/germany-ammunition-overtakes-us-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/germany-ammunition-overtakes-us-2026 Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Pappberger cites artillery shells up from 70,000 to 1.1m/yr; Europe's 155mm output now eclipses American lines [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/freeport-grasberg-mudflow-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/freeport-grasberg-mudflow-2026 Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A September 2025 ore pass mud rush placed the block cave under force majeure; Freeport revised full-year copper to 3.1bn pounds and gold to 650,000 oz; Morgan Stanley downgraded on recovery uncertainty [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/imec-revival-stalled-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/imec-revival-stalled-2026 Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Hopes that the EU-India trade deal would revive the India-Mideast-Europe Corridor run into India-US friction and a Hormuz stress test [stalemate] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/malaysia-johor-sez-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/malaysia-johor-sez-2026 Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The JS-SEZ, covering 3,588 square kilometres of southern Johor, logged RM73 billion in investment inquiries by mid-2026; in June PM Anwar Ibrahim's government actively pitched US semiconductor and manufacturing firms on the zone as tariff-hedging territory [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/kamoa-kakula-copper-smelter-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/kamoa-kakula-copper-smelter-2026 Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The December 2025 smelter first fire at 60% of 500,000 tpa design; Q1 anode output was 71,417t; sulphuric acid output of 1,350t/day feeds local fertiliser plans; Codelco-Glencore are studying a 1.5 MTpa Chilean smelter for 2032 [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/belgium-capital-gains-tax-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/belgium-capital-gains-tax-2026 Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Belgium's Chamber of Representatives formally adopted on 3 April 2026 legislation introducing a 10% solidarity contribution on realised gains from stocks, bonds, funds, and crypto, with a €10,000 annual per-person exemption; Belgium had been one of the last EU member states without a general tax on investment returns [resolved] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/zimbabwe-lithium-sulphate-exports https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/zimbabwe-lithium-sulphate-exports Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Huayou Cobalt's Arcadia plant shipped the continent's first domestically refined lithium sulphate; Chinese firms have committed ~$1.2bn to Zimbabwe lithium processing, with Sinomine's Bikita facility still under construction [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/titanium-sponge-aerospace-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/titanium-sponge-aerospace-2026 Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT IperionX's Virginia facility began production March 27, 2026; Russian VSMPO-AVISMA's US Entity List designation reduced Western aerospace titanium supply; Osaka Titanium launched a ¥39 billion expansion to 50,000 tpa; sponge prices reached $6,080/t, up 10.5% [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/belgium-nato-2pct-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/belgium-nato-2pct-2026 Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Belgium confirmed on 26 March 2026 that its 2025 defence budget reached 2% of gross domestic product, the first time the country has met the NATO target since joining the alliance; the De Wever government has committed to a €34bn Strategic Vision for 2026-2034 targeting 2.5% of GDP by 2034 and 3.5% by 2035 [transition] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/sipri-2025-arms-transfers-europe-surge https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/sipri-2025-arms-transfers-europe-surge Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT US holds 42% of exports; Germany overtakes China; Ukraine is the world's top arms importer [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/lynas-texas-limbo https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/lynas-texas-limbo Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT CEO Amanda Lacaze says Seadrift construction may not proceed without DoD offtake; Kuantan plant secured a 10-year licence but must eliminate radioactive waste by 2031; Malaysian DoE blocked the planned capacity expansion [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-crma-strategic-projects https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-crma-strategic-projects Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The European Commission published its second CRMA Strategic Projects selection in March 2026, bringing the total to 94 projects; member states must issue permits within 24 months; the CRMA sets 2030 supply benchmarks requiring 10% domestic extraction and 40% EU processing [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/norinco-arms-export-slump-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/norinco-arms-export-slump-2026 Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Anti-corruption probes, contract delays and a Pakistan buying collapse drag Chinese sales to a 15-year low [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/algeria-eu-gas-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/algeria-eu-gas-2026 Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Spain and Italy secured expanded pipeline gas imports from Algeria after February 2026 Iran-conflict energy shock drove European gas prices up more than 60%; Algeria's sixth EU-Algeria High-Level Energy Dialogue in February formalised a strategic partnership and Sonatrach launched a bid round across 7 fields covering 2.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-minerals-price-floor-allies https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/us-minerals-price-floor-allies Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The DoD's $110/kg NdPr floor with MP Materials became a template; Washington negotiated allied floors with Mexico, the EU and Japan by February 2026; the One Big Beautiful Bill's Section 20004 appropriated $2bn for a Strategic Resilience Reserve; the G7 Évian declaration committed $64bn across 195 projects [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/aluminium-china-cap-rusal-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/aluminium-china-cap-rusal-2026 Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT China's self-imposed 45Mt annual smelting ceiling will be reached by late 2026 on current ramp rates, limiting incremental supply; the EU cut Rusal's preferential import quota from 275,000t to 50,000t for February-December 2026; primary aluminium averaged $2,680/t on the LME in H1 2026 [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/glencore-drc-orion-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/glencore-drc-orion-2026 Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Mutanda-KCC stake transfer gives Washington indirect control over two of the DRC's largest mines; a six-month Takeover Panel cooling-off period on the Rio Tinto mega-merger expires in August 2026 [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/tantalum-niobium-strategic-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/tantalum-niobium-strategic-2026 Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The January 28-29, 2026 Rubaya landslide in North Kivu killed over 220 artisanal miners; OFAC sanctioned the Rwandan Defence Forces in March; tantalum capacitor prices rose 15-30% on AI server demand; CBMM and Echion opened a 2,000 tpa niobium anode facility [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-india-trade-deal-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/eu-india-trade-deal-2026 Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Two decades of stalled talks ended on geopolitics as much as commerce; the text is signed only on paper, with formal signature due by end-2026 [pending-decision] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/chile-sqm-codelco-jv https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/chile-sqm-codelco-jv Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A January 26 ruling removed the final legal challenge to Chile's nationalization model; the 2026-2030 integration phase begins with Codelco holding a majority-plus-one share and SQM operating the Salar de Atacama [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/bolivia-lithium-deals-frozen https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/bolivia-lithium-deals-frozen Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A Potosí court halted contracts with CATL subsidiary CBC and a Russian partner; President Arce asked Congress to unblock them; YLB's DLE projects cover world's largest lithium reserves but output has been minimal [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-rare-earth-japan-controls https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/china-rare-earth-japan-controls Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A January 2026 MOFCOM ban on dual-use exports for military end-users in Japan broadened into de-facto supply disruption; Japan's dependence on Chinese rare earths has fallen to 60-70% but the shock hit auto and defence sectors [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/indonesia-nickel-hpal-crisis https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/indonesia-nickel-hpal-crisis Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Jakarta's 2026 RKAB allocation of 270Mt (down from 379Mt) tightened feedstock; acid costs near $1,000/t and HPAL utilisation fell to 70-75% [worsening] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/copper-tcrc-zero https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/copper-tcrc-zero Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Antofagasta and Chinese smelters settled 2026 annual TC/RCs at $0/t; spot charges went negative to -$70/t, forcing China's top smelters to cut output 10% [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/graphite-china-export-control-2026 https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/graphite-china-export-control-2026 Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A November 2025 suspension of graphite export approvals created a six-month freeze on Chinese anode-material shipments; US International Trade Commission March 2026 preliminary injury finding opened antidumping/CVD investigations; China produces 65% of mined graphite and 97% of spherical graphite [active] https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/ira-45x-one-big-beautiful-bill https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/ira-45x-one-big-beautiful-bill Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The House-passed reconciliation bill terminates the IRA's wind production and investment credits for projects beginning after 2026, extends and modifies the 45X advanced manufacturing credit, bars FEOC-sourced material from 45X eligibility, and adds a new metallurgical coal credit; Senate outcome uncertain [active]