By Amir Razmjou, Edith Cowan University Critical minerals are having a moment. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is at the White House to talk up Australia’s rich deposits with President Donald Trump. China, which has a global stranglehold on rare earth elements, recently imposed new export restrictions, much to Trump’s annoyance. It’s clear there’s an era…
A plan by Alcoa and others to produce gallium alongside alumina at an existing Western Australian refinery has received a boost, with the Australian government making a $307 million financial commitment in the Alcoa-Sojitz Gallium Recovery Project in Wagerup following the meeting of the US’s and Australia’s leadership. A Joint Development Agreement by the Japan…
By Joe Carrello, The University of Melbourne US President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on Australia’s pharmaceutical exports to the United States has raised alarm among industry and government leaders. There are fears that, if implemented, the tariffs could cost the Australian economy up to A$2.8 billion. That’s both in direct exports and as inputs to…
US President Donald Trump has flagged a possible 200 per cent tariff on pharmaceuticals and a 50 per cent tariff on copper, as the ABC reports, with potential significant implications for Australian manufacturers. Speaking to media before a cabinet meeting, Trump said pharmaceutical producers would receive a grace period to move production to the United…
By Christian Downie, Australian National University President Donald Trump is trying to unravel the signature climate policy of his predecessor Joe Biden, the Inflation Reduction Act, as part of a sweeping bid to dismantle the United States’ climate ambition. The Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, is a A$530 billion suite of measures that aims to…
By Scott French, UNSW Sydney Just one day after the US Court of Appeals temporarily reinstated the Trump Administration’s Liberation Day tariffs of between 10 per cent and 50 per cent on nearly every country in the world, Trump announced tariffs on all US imports of steel and aluminium will increase from 25 per cent…
KBR selected for Samsara factory Houston, US-headquartered engineering firm KBR has been announced as a partner on Samsara Eco’s plastics and textile enzymatic recycling plant, scheduled for completion in early 2028. Samsara is commercialising an enzymatic recycling technology for processing “some of the most common types of plastic and synthetic fibre – materials that have…
By Susan Stone, University of South Australia The past week has seen the United States single-handedly rewrite the underlying paradigm for global trade. And while it is fair to say that the methods are extreme, the underlying goal of the policy is not unique to the US. Indeed, the push to support, and expand, domestic…
By Felicity Deane, Queensland University of Technology US President Donald Trump has imposed a range of tariffs on all products entering the US market, with Australian exports set to face a 10% tariff, effective April 5. These import taxes will be charged by US customs on each imported item. The punitive tariffs on 60 countries…
Implantable hearing aid manufacturer Cochlear has said it is seeking clarification on the application of new tariffs on Australian exports to the United States. Its statement on Thursday morning swiftly followed the “Liberation Day” announcement by US president Donald Trump of tariffs on all importers to the US. Australian exports face the baseline rate of…