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US-EU tariff talks progress as Trump announces Japan deal

United States and European officials signaled progress in tariff talks Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump announced a pact with Japan and China said its vice premier would attend bilateral negotiations next week.In an attempt to slash his country’s trade deficits, Trump has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariff hikes if they do not hammer out a pact with Washington by August 1.While the Trump administration earlier promised “90 deals in 90 days” as it delayed the imposition of higher duties in April, Washington has so far unveiled just five agreements including with Japan and the Philippines.The others are with Britain, Vietnam and Indonesia, the latter of which the White House noted would ease critical mineral export restrictions.Negotiations remain ongoing with major US trading partners China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union.Washington and Brussels signaled negotiations were moving along, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz voicing optimism that “decisions” may be coming soon.Several EU diplomats added that the bloc was examining a US proposal involving a 15 percent tariff — and sectoral carve-outs still to be decided.EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic was expected to speak with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, meanwhile, told Bloomberg Television: “I think that we are making good progress with the EU.”Separately, representatives from China and the United States will meet next week in Swedish capital Stockholm to further negotiations before an August 12 deadline agreed in May.Beijing and Washington imposed tit-for-tat levies on each other’s exports this year, reaching triple-digit levels, before agreeing to lower these temporarily until mid-August.As the clock ticks down, China said Wednesday it would seek to “strengthen cooperation” with Washington, and confirmed vice premier He Lifeng would attend the talks.- ‘Massive deal’ -For now, Trump was touting Washington’s agreement with Japan as “a massive deal.”He said on his Truth Social platform Tuesday that under the deal, “Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the United States, which will receive 90% of the Profits.”Bessent told Bloomberg Television that Japan received a 15 percent tariff rate, down from the 25 percent threatened, as “they were willing to provide this innovative financing mechanism.””They are going to provide equity credit guarantees and funding for major projects in the US,” Bessent said.Japanese exports to the United States were already subject to a 10 percent tariff, and this would have spiked to 25 percent come August 1 without a deal.Duties of 25 percent on Japanese autos — an industry accounting for eight percent of Japanese jobs — were also already in place, plus 50 percent on steel and aluminum.Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the autos levy had now been cut to 15 percent, sending Japanese car stocks soaring, with Toyota and Mitsubishi up around 14 percent each. The Nikkei rose 3.5 percent.”We are the first (country) in the world to reduce tariffs on automobiles and auto parts, with no limits on volume,” he told reporters.Japan’s trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa, who secured the deal on his eighth visit to Washington, said the 50 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum would remain. Akazawa also said increased defense spending by Japan — something Trump has pressed for — was not part of the agreement.Trump added Tuesday that Japan agreed as well to “open their Country to Trade including Cars and Trucks, Rice and certain other Agricultural Products, and other things.”Rice imports are a sensitive issue in Japan, and Ishiba’s government — which lost its upper house majority in elections on Sunday — had previously ruled out any concessions. Japan currently imports 770,000 tons of rice tariff-free under its World Trade Organization commitments, and Ishiba said it would import more US grain within this.Ishiba said Wednesday that the deal does not “sacrifice” Japan’s agricultural sector.Tatsuo Yasunaga, the chair of the Japan Foreign Trade Council, welcomed the trade deal but said the business community needed to see details to assess its impact.Other US trading partners are watching closely as the August 1 deadline approaches.The Philippines’ deal announced Tuesday only saw levies cut by one percentage point, to 19 percent, after Trump hosted President Ferdinand Marcos.China on Wednesday said it supported “equal dialogue” following the announcement of the Japan-US deal.burs-raz-bys/acb

EU, Japan vow joint push for ‘fair’ global trade

The EU and Japan pledged on Wednesday to work together on championing a “free and fair” trade global system, as US tariffs and disputes with China rattle their economies.Brussels and Tokyo announced a “competitiveness alliance” to increase bilateral trade, address unfair practices, and boost innovation, at a summit in the Japanese capital.”In today’s world, competitiveness has to be built with trusted partners such as Japan,” European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen told journalists after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. “Together, Europe and Japan represent a fifth of global GDP and a market of 600 million people,” she added.”So, we have the scale to shape global rules on trade and tech in line with our values of fairness and openness.”Facing a swirl of speculation over his future following a weekend election debacle, Ishiba said the EU and Japan concurred to work together to strengthen a “stable and predictable rules-based free and fair economic order”. Von der Leyen congratulated the prime minister on his “successful negotiations” to secure a tariff deal with Washington, a feat that has so far escaped the European Commission she leads.US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday a “massive” trade deal with Japan, as a deadline looms for the EU and other major US trade partners to strike agreements or face steep levies.Tokyo said the deal would see a tariff on Japanese car cut to 15 percent. The EU’s top trade negotiator Maros Sefcovic is due to speak once again to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later on Wednesday.Von der Leyen’s commission, the EU’s top executive body, is in charge of trade policy for the 27-nation bloc.”In a world of growing uncertainty, we are also stepping up joint efforts to boost economic security and resilience,” Antonio Costa told journalists in Tokyo.Costa heads the European Council representing EU member states. He said the EU and Japan — who back Ukraine in its war with Russia — would push to deepen cooperation between their defence industries. Costa and von der Leyen will visit Beijing next for talks with China’s top leaders on Thursday. Beijing and Brussels will mark the 50th anniversary of their establishment of diplomatic ties.But differences over state subsidies, market access and China’s support for Russia are set to overshadow the event.burs-ub/del/jj

Stock markets rally after Japan-US trade deal

Stock markets rose on Wednesday after Japan and the United States hammered out a trade deal to slash Donald Trump’s tariffs, including those on the crucial car sector.Investors were also cheered by news that Washington had reached agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines, stoking optimism that other countries will also follow suit before Trump’s August 1 deadline.”News of a trade agreement between the US and Japan is fostering optimism among investors that further deals might be reached before punishing tariffs come into force,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.5 percent, after hitting another record high at the open.Paris piled on one percent and Frankfurt also advanced, tracking gains in Asia.Tokyo surged over three percent after the US president announced a deal lowering tariffs on some Japanese goods to 15 percent, down from the threatened 25 percent.The deal will also reduce tolls on autos — a sector accounting for eight percent of Japanese jobs — to 15 percent, compared, with 25 percent for other countries.In return, Japan pledged to invest $550 billion in the United States, Trump said on social media.Shares in carmaker Toyota rocketed higher by more than 14 percent, Mitsubishi 13 percent and Nissan eight percent. European carmakers also rallied, with Porsche rising over seven percent, while Volkswagen and BMW were up around six percent in Frankfurt.In Paris, Stellantis topped the gainers on the CAC 40, advancing close to seven percent.The deal is providing optimism that other countries can “seal good deals if they pledge investment into the US,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.Trump also hailed an agreement with Manila to lower levies on Philippine goods by one percentage point to 19 percent, while tariffs on Indonesia were slashed from 32 percent to 19 percent.Shares in Manila and Jakarta rallied.The announcements boosted hopes of other deals before next Friday’s deadline, though talks with the European Union and South Korea remain elusive.The EU’s top trade negotiator will speak to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later on Wednesday.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm next week, as a separate mid-August deadline approaches for levies on Chinese goods to snap back to steeper levels.Japan’s 10-year government bond yield soared to the highest since 2008 after media speculation that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba would resign after a weekend election debacle, which he denied.Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong hit its highest level since late 2021, while Shanghai was flat.The advances came after a broadly positive day on Wall Street where the S&P 500 hit another peak but the Nasdaq snapped a six-day streak of records.Eyes are also on the release of earnings from Google parent Alphabet and tech giants including Tesla and Intel.- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 9,065.57 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 7,823.93 Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 24,158.28Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 3.5 percent at 41,171.32 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.6 percent at 25,538.07 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,582.30 (close)New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 44,502.44 (close)Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.37 yen from 146.66 yen on TuesdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1726 from $1.1755Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3534 from $1.3532Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.63 pence from 86.84 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.6 percent at $64.91 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $68.16 per barrel

‘So Trump-like’: relief but no surprise in Japan as US cuts tariffs

In the Japanese city of Seki, famed for its razor-sharp artisan knives, news that incoming US tariffs will be lowered is welcome but not entirely unexpected.Around 40 percent of kitchen blades produced in Seki, where knifemaking expertise dates back 700 years, are exported to the United States, local authorities say.The two countries announced Wednesday they had cut a deal to lower the 25-percent tariffs on Japanese goods threatened by US President Donald Trump — starting on August 1 — to 15 percent.”Lower tariffs are better” but “I’m not that surprised” at the trade deal, said Katsumi Sumikama, head of Sumikama Cutlery in Seki.”I don’t know what truly happened, but I feel like maybe Trump thought tariffs up to 15 percent were acceptable, and boldly proposed a higher tariff rate at first,” Sumikama told AFP.”Then as the negotiations took shape, he tried to create a good impression in the public eye by lowering it from 25 percent. That kind of strategy would be so Trump-like.”The US leader, who hailed the Japan deal as “massive”, has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariffs if they do not hammer out a pact with Washington by the end of July.Japan is one of five nations to have signed an agreement — along with Britain, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines — after Trump said in April he would strike “90 deals in 90 days”.Headlines have focused on the impact of US tariffs on the likes of Toyota and others in Japan’s huge auto industry, as well as trade in steel, rice and other key goods.But Japanese knives have in recent years become a luxury must-have in kitchens worldwide including the United States, partly fuelled by a pandemic-era home cooking boom.- ‘Weathered the storm’ -Blademaking in Seki dates back to the 14th century, when the city in the mountains of Gifu region became a major producer of swords thanks to its rich natural environment.Today its knives are prized for their precision, sleek finish and long lifespan, with record tourism to Japan also boosting sales for companies like Sumikama Cutlery.Exports to North America, including Canada, account for just five percent of the firm’s sales on a value basis. The company exports more knives to Europe and other Asian countries.CEO Sumikama, who is in his 60s, said he did not plan price hikes for the US market, even before the tariffs were reduced.Seki’s industry has “weathered the storm” through the decades, including during exchange rate fluctuations — with one dollar worth 80 yen or more than 300 yen at times, he told AFP.On the US side, clients have also survived tumultuous events such as the 2008 financial crisis, meaning they are “not worried at all” about tariffs, he added.If Trump is “trying to make America strong by deliberately raising tariffs” he should know that “problems cannot be solved by such simple means”, Sumikama said, adding that “American people will have to bear the burden of higher costs”.Sumikama Cutlery, which has about 30 workers, uses machines that guarantee accuracy to one-thousandth of a millimetre to make the knives, then artisans finish the job by hand.Japanese knives make food taste better, “have unique ‘wabi-sabi’ aesthetics” — meaning beauty in imperfection — “and when it comes to sharpness, they’re second to none”, Sumikama said.”Different countries have different strengths and weaknesses… even if President Trump tells people to make (Japanese-style) knives, they cannot.”

Tokyo’s Nikkei leads Asian rally after Japan-US trade deal

Tokyo stocks surged Wednesday after Japan and the United States finally hammered out a trade deal to slash Donald Trump’s tariffs, including those on the crucial car sector.Investors were also cheered by news that Washington had reached agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines, stoking optimism that other countries will also follow suit.Despite a lack of deals ahead of Trump’s August 1 deadline, equity markets have been on the march in recent weeks on optimism that governments will eventually get over the line.Investor sentiment in Tokyo had been subdued as Japanese trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa travelled seven times to Washington since April in a bid to persuade Trump to scrap the levies.But the US president announced Tuesday a “massive” deal lowering tariffs on some Japanese goods to 15 percent, down from the threatened 25 percent.Tokyo also cut a deal to reduce tolls on its autos — a sector accounting for eight percent of Japanese jobs — to 15 percent, compared, with 25 percent for other countries.”Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the United States, which will receive 90% of the Profits,” Trump said on social media.He did not provide details on the investment plan, but claimed the deal “will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs.”With car shipments deal in the bag, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said: “We are the first (country) in the world to reduce tariffs on automobiles and auto parts, with no limits on volume.”Akazawa wrote on social media: “Mission accomplished.”However, he later said the 50 percent levies on steel and aluminium were not part of the deal.Traders poured back into the market, pushing the Nikkei up more than three percent to a one-year high thanks to soaring automakers.Toyota rocketed more than 14 percent, Mitsubishi 13 percent and Nissan jumped more than eight percent.”With the reciprocal tariff rate at 15 percent, our base case view that tariffs should have a limited direct impact for most industries in Japan is unchanged,” said Lorraine Tan Morningstar’s director of equity research in Asia.”The key risk remains the indirect impact of slower global demand given ongoing tariff uncertainty.”- ‘Win not clear-cut’ -The yen strengthened to 146.20 per dollar — compared with close to 148 Tuesday but it lost some weight after a top Bank of Japan official indicated it was not in any rush to hike interest rates.However, analysts were cautious over the agreement.Stefan Angrick at Moody’s Analytics warned the deal “is unlikely to be the final chapter in a saga that has bruised Japan’s economy”.”Japan’s apparent ‘win’ is not that clear-cut; the country faced US tariffs in the low single digits before April and a 10 percent tariff since mid-April. It’s unclear when the new tariff rate will take effect,” he said.”It’s too early to assess the economic ramifications based on the superficial information available at the moment; the most that can be said at this point is that the 15 percent tariff is worse than what Japan had but better than what was threatened.”Trump also hailed an agreement with Manila to lower the toll on Philippine goods by one percentage point to 19 percent, while tariffs on Indonesia were slashed from 32 percent to 19 percent.Shares in Manila and Jakarta rallied.The announcements boosted hopes of other deals before next Friday’s deadline, though talks with the European Union and South Korea remain elusive.Still, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would meet his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm next week, as a separate mid-August deadline approaches for US levies on China to return to steeper levels.Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong hit its highest level since late 2021, while Sydney, Singapore and Taipei, Seoul, Mumbai and Bangkok all enjoyed healthy buying interest. Shanghai was flat.London started the day in the green with Paris and Frankfurt.The advances came after a broadly positive day on Wall Street where the S&P 500 hit another peak but the Nasdaq snapped a six-day streak of records.Eyes are also on the release of earnings from Google parent Alphabet and tech giants including Tesla and Intel.- Key figures at around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 3.5 percent at 41,171.32 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.6 percent at 25,538.07 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,582.30 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 9,059.96Dollar/yen: UP at 146.79 yen from 146.66 yen TuesdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1734 from $1.1755Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3539 from $1.3532Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.67 pence from 86.84 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $65.35 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $68.65 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 44,502.44 (close)

Trump announces ‘massive’ Japan trade deal

Donald Trump announced Tuesday a “massive” trade deal with Japan, as a deadline looms for other major US trade partners to strike agreements before the end of the month.In an attempt to slash his country’s colossal trade deficit, the US president has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive “reciprocal” tariffs if they do not hammer out a pact with Washington by August 1.The Japan agreement, along with another pact with the Philippines also announced on Tuesday, means Trump has now secured five agreements since his administration promised in April “90 deals in 90 days.”The others were with Britain, Vietnam and Indonesia, which the White House said Tuesday would ease critical mineral export restrictions.”We just completed a massive Deal with Japan, perhaps the largest Deal ever made,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. He said that under the deal, “Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the United States, which will receive 90% of the Profits”.He did not provide further details on the unusual investment plan, but said it “will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs”.Japanese exports to the United States were already subject to a 10 percent tariff, which would have risen to 25 percent on August 1 without a deal.Duties of 25 percent on Japanese autos — an industry accounting for eight percent of Japanese jobs — were also already in place, plus 50 percent on steel and aluminium.Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that the autos levy had now been cut to 15 percent, sending Japanese car stocks soaring, with Toyota and Mitsubishi up around 14 percent each. The Nikkei rose 3.5 percent.”We are the first (country) in the world to reduce tariffs on automobiles and auto parts, with no limits on volume,” he told reporters.”By protecting what needs to be protected, we continued the negotiations with an aim to reach an agreement that meets the national interest of both Japan and the United States,” Ishiba added.- Rice imports -However, Japan’s trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa, who secured the deal on his eighth visit to Washington, said the 50 percent tariffs on steel and aluminium would remain. Akazawa also said increased defense spending by Japan — something Trump has pressed for — was not part of the agreement.Trump said Tuesday Japan has also agreed to “open their Country to Trade including Cars and Trucks, Rice and certain other Agricultural Products, and other things.”Rice imports are a sensitive issue in Japan, and Ishiba’s government — which lost its upper house majority in elections on Sunday — had previously ruled out any concessions. Japan currently imports 770,000 tonnes of rice tariff-free under its World Trade Organization commitments, and Ishiba said it would import more US grain within this.Ishiba said Wednesday that the deal does not “sacrifice” Japan’s agricultural sector.Tatsuo Yasunaga, the chair of Japan Foreign Trade Council welcomed the trade deal announcement but said the business community needed to see details to assess its impact.”I highly commend the fact that this major milestone has been achieved and dispelled the uncertainty that private companies had been concerned about,” Yasunaga said.Naomi Omura, an 80-year-old voter, said it was “disappointing that Japan cannot act more strongly” towards the United States.Tetsuo Momiyama, 81, said that Ishiba “is finished… It’s good timing for him to go.”Reports claimed Wednesday that he aims to step down soon following the election debacle.- China talks -Trump has been under pressure to wrap up trade pacts after promising a flurry of deals ahead of his deadline.Trump also said levies on the Philippines, another close US ally, would be cut by one percentage point to 19 percent after hosting President Ferdinand Marcos.But negotiations are still ongoing with much larger US trading partners China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that he would meet his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm next week.Leaders of the world’s two biggest economies imposed escalating, tit-for-tat levies on each other’s exports earlier this year, reaching triple-digit levels.But in talks in Geneva in May they agreed to lower them temporarily until August 12.China said on Wednesday it supported “equal dialogue” following the announcement of the Japan-US deal.”China always advocates that all parties solve economic and trade issues through equal dialogue and consultations, to protect a good environment for international economic and trade cooperation,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a briefing. burs-je/abs

Trump agrees to small reduction in Philippine tariffs

US President Donald Trump agreed Tuesday to reduce threatened tariffs on the Philippines, but only by one percentage point, after what he termed a successful meeting with his counterpart Ferdinand Marcos.Welcoming Marcos to the White House, Trump called him a “very tough negotiator” and said: “We’re very close to finishing a trade deal — a big trade deal, actually.”In a social media post shortly afterward, Trump said that while the Philippines would open up completely to US goods, he would still impose a 19 percent tariff on products from the Southeast Asian country, a major exporter of high-tech items and apparel.”It was a beautiful visit, and we concluded our Trade Deal, whereby The Philippines is going OPEN MARKET with the United States, and ZERO Tariffs,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.The Philippines was among two dozen economies confronted by Trump with letters this month warning of 20 percent tariffs on all goods coming into the United States as of August 1.The 19 percent rate is still above the 17 percent threatened by Trump in April, when he threatened sweeping global tariffs.Speaking at a press briefing Wednesday in Manila, Marcos’s press secretary Claire Castro said the Philippine president had confirmed Trump’s zero tariffs statement but only for “certain markets,” without elaborating.She also downplayed the potential effects of a tariff regime, noting that just 16 percent of the country’s exports go to the United States, with about two-thirds being electronic components not subject to the levies.”To put it plainly, it has an impact on the country, but not that much,” she told reporters.Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Marcos described the tariff situation as a “living thing” that could potentially be revisited as global markets adjusted.The trade rift comes despite increasingly close defense relations between the United States and the Philippines, a former US colony and treaty-bound ally that has seen high tensions with China.The United States deployed ground-launched missiles in the Philippines last year, and has also eyed ammunition manufacturing there, despite the closure in 1992 of the US naval base at Subic Bay due to heavy public pressure.”All of what we consider part of the modernization of the Philippine military is really a response to the circumstances that surround the situation in the South China Sea,” Marcos said next to Trump.”We are essentially concerned with the defense of our territory and the exercise of our sovereign rights,” said Marcos.”Our strongest, closest, most reliable ally has always been the United States.”- Trump eyes China visit -China and the Philippines have engaged in a series of confrontations in the contested waters of the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely, despite an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis.Trump has frequently questioned allies in Europe over their military spending, but voiced fewer doubts about the Philippines. Both Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in meetings with Marcos on Monday vowed to honor the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the Southeast Asian nation.The Trump administration has identified China as the top US adversary but the president has also boasted of his relationship with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.Speaking alongside Marcos, Trump said he would “probably” visit China at Xi’s invitation “in the not-too-distant future.”He said of Marcos: “I don’t mind if he gets along with China very well, because we’re getting along with China very well.”Trump added the Philippines had been “maybe tilting toward China” and “we untilted it very, very quickly.””I just don’t think that would have been good for you,” Trump said.He credited himself with the shift, although the turn towards Washington began after the 2022 election of Marcos, before Trump returned to power.Marcos’s predecessor Rodrigo Duterte had flirted with closer relations with China and bristled at US criticism over human rights under Joe Biden and Barack Obama.

Trump a boon for deep-sea mining: industry boss

A leading deep-sea mining company in the paradisal Cook Islands is aiming to start commercial production by 2030, spurred on by Donald Trump’s recent backing for the much-maligned industry.Moana Minerals wants to mine a swathe of deep ocean in the South Pacific nation for polymetallic nodules, golf-ball sized lumps studded with metals like cobalt, nickel and manganese. Efforts to start commercial-scale production have been dogged by growing calls to ban the industry until its environmental impact is clear.But Moana Minerals boss Hans Smit said fresh momentum was building, citing the support of US President Trump. Trump earlier this year signed an executive order targeted at “unleashing” mineral resources found in the deep ocean. “What he’s done is tasked his people to go and look at it seriously,” Smit said.  “It certainly is helpful that we are engaging with a lot of people that in the past would not give us the time of day. But they are listening.”Both the United States and China have signalled renewed interest in deep-sea mining, which could offer a pipeline of critical minerals that helps insulate them from future trade ructions. Trump is eager to weaken China’s stranglehold on the coveted metals, which are used in everything from rechargeable batteries to military technology. Cook Islands — which lays claim to one of the world’s biggest deposits of polymetallic nodules — signed a contentious deep-sea mining cooperation deal with China earlier this year. US-based Smit had a simple message for those worried about China’s foray into the industry. “The people yelling at the Cook Islands for talking to the Chinese, I have a very simple statement for them: If you want to counter the Chinese, get off your arse and do something proactive.” Cook Islands’ Pacific neighbour Kiribati is also exploring a deep-sea mining deal with China. China already holds some of the world’s largest deposits of critical minerals and is fiercely protective of its position. Smit said he hoped to start industrial-scale deep-sea mining by the end of the decade. “I want to be mining before 2030. Yeah, absolutely, I think that we can.”- Frustration -The International Seabed Authority — which oversees deep-sea mining in international waters — has yet to adopt long-awaited rules governing the industry. Canada-based The Metals Company has indicated it could forge ahead and start mining international waters without the authority’s approval, applying instead for a mining permit under obscure and untested US laws. Those laws say US citizens can mine the ocean, as long as their activities lie outside the nation’s maritime territory. “I can understand why The Metals Company have done it,” Smit said. “I can understand their frustration and empathise with it. “But I still think there’s a lot to be unpacked before we’re going to have any clarity as to which way it’s going to go.” The Cook Islands government, which is supportive of deep-sea mining, said it would not set a time frame on when it hoped to have the industry under way. But the government said it remained “aligned” with the International Seabed Authority’s approach. “Cook Islands will remain steadfast in our precautionary approach,” government spokesman Edward Herman told AFP. “We believe that the Cook Islands government and the people can make an informed decision.”

The Pacific island nation that wants to mine the ocean floor

A 1,000-tonne ship is exploring the far-flung South Pacific for riches buried beneath the waves, spearheading efforts to dredge the tropical waters for industrial deep-sea mining.Fringed by sparkling lagoons and palm-shaded beaches, Pacific nation the Cook Islands has opened its vast ocean territory for mining exploration.Research vessels roam the seas searching for deposits of battery metals, rare earths and critical minerals that litter the deep ocean’s abyssal plains.The frontier industry is likened by some to a modern-day gold rush, and decried by others as environmental “madness”.AFP visited the sunburst-orange MV Anuanua Moana at the Cook Islands’ sleepy port of Avatiu, where it loaded supplies before setting sail for the archipelago’s outer reaches.”The resource in our field is probably in the order of about US$4 billion in potential value,” said chief executive Hans Smit from Moana Minerals, which converted the former supply ship into a deepwater research vessel. It is fitted with chemistry labs, sonar arrays and sensors used to probe the seabed for coveted metals.For two years it has sailed the Cook Islands, halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii, gathering data to convince regulators that deep-sea mining is safe. While exploration is far advanced, no company has started mining on a commercial scale. – Big business -“I want to be mining before 2030,” Smit said from the ship’s tower, as whirring cranes loaded wooden crates of heavy gear below. “Absolutely, I think that we can.”Large tracts of seabed around the Cook Islands are carpeted in polymetallic nodules, misshapen black globes encrusted with cobalt, nickel, manganese and other coveted metals.   Demand has been driven by the rise of electric vehicles, rechargeable batteries and durable alloys used in everything from construction to medicine.The Cook Islands lay claim to one of just four major nodule deposits globally.It is “the world’s largest and richest resource of polymetallic nodules within a sovereign territory”, according to Australia’s University of Queensland.Moana Minerals — a subsidiary of a Texas-based company — owns the rights to explore 20,000 square kilometres (7,500 square miles) within the Cook Islands’ exclusive economic zone. “If we put one mining ship on there, and we started producing metals, we will be one of the largest mines around,” said Smit.- ‘Belongs to us’ -Few countries are as reliant on the ocean as the Cook Islands, a seafaring nation of some 17,000 people scattered across a chain of volcanic isles and coral atolls. Pristine lagoons lure wealthy tourists that prop-up the economy, fridges are stocked with fish plucked from vibrant reefs, and local myths teach children to revere the sea. Many Cook Islanders fear deep-sea mining could taint their precious “moana”, or ocean, forever. “I have seen the ship in the harbour,” said tour guide Ngametua Mamanu, 55.”Why do we need the mining stuff to destroy the oceans?” Retiree Ana Walker, 74, feared foreign interests had come to plunder her island home. “We think that these people are coming over to make money and to leave the mess with us.”Deep-sea mining companies tout the need for critical minerals to make electric vehicles, solar panels and other “green” technologies. The idea holds some allure in a place like the Cook Islands, where climate change is linked to droughts, destructive cyclones and rising seas. “If all goes well, there is good that can come out of it. Financially,” said third-generation pearl farmer James Kora, 31. “But it relies on how well we manage all those minerals. If the science says it’s safe.”- ‘Guinea pigs’ -Marine biologist Teina Rongo squinted into the sunlight as his small boat motored past the Anuanua Moana, an emblem of an industry he views with deep distrust. “We were never about exploring the bottom of the ocean, because our ancestors believed it is a place of the gods,” said Rongo.”We don’t belong there.” Deep-sea mining companies are still figuring the best way to retrieve nodules that can lie five kilometres (three miles) or more beneath the waves. Most focus on robotic harvesting machines, which scrape up nodules as they crawl the ocean floor. Critics fear mining will smother marine life with plumes of waste, and that the alien noise of heavy machinery will disrupt oceanic migrations. Environmentalist Alanna Smith said researchers knew very little about the deep ocean.”We’d really be the guinea pigs of this industry, going first in.”It’s a risky, risky move.”- Powerful friends -A US-backed research expedition in the 1950s was the first to discover the “enormous fields” of polymetallic nodules in the South Pacific. Waves of Japanese, French, American and Russian ships sailed the Cook Islands in the following decades to map this trove. But deep-sea mining was largely a fringe idea until around 2018, when the burgeoning electric vehicle industry sent metal prices soaring. Mining companies are now vying to exploit the world’s four major nodule fields — three in international waters, and the fourth in the Cook Islands.The International Seabed Authority meets this month to mull rules that could pave the way for mining in international waters.Although the Cook Islands can mine its territory without the authority’s approval, it still has a stake in the decision. The Cook Islands also own one of 17 contracts to hunt for nodules in the international waters of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, halfway between Mexico and Hawaii.So far, the Cook Islands has said its approach — even in its own waters — would be closely “aligned” with the authority’s rules.But it remains unclear if it will proceed without those regulations.”We’re not setting time frames in terms of when we want to get this started,” said Edward Herman, from the Cook Islands’ Seabed Minerals Authority. “I think the time frames will be determined based on what the research and the science and the data tells us.”Many of the Cook Islands’ South Pacific neighbours want to see deep-sea mining banned. French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a scathing indictment in June, saying the “predatory” industry was environmental “madness”. But the Cook Islands has powerful friends. It signed an agreement with China earlier this year for the “exploration and research of seabed mineral resources”.”There was a lot of noise,” said Herman, referencing the backlash over the China deal. “And obviously there’s a lot of interest… whenever China engages with anyone in the Pacific. “And we understand, we accept it, and we will continue.”