US tariff exemptions spare some commodity trade

Spanish Market: Chemicals, Metals, Oil products
03/04/25

US president Donald Trump has exempted many energy and mineral products from his new import tariffs, potentially reducing the immediate impact on commodity trade. But the threat of global economic disruption nevertheless sent commodity futures sharply lower today.

The tariffs, announced by Trump on 2 April, include carve-outs for "copper… semiconductors… certain critical minerals, and energy and energy products," the White House said.

The full list of exempted products includes many non-ferrous metals, oil products, base oils, coal and some fertilizer and chemical products.

The 2 April tariffs will not apply to steel and aluminum, cars, trucks and auto parts, which already are subject to separate tariffs. A 25pc tariff on all imported cars and trucks came into force on 3 April, while a 25pc tax on auto parts will take effect on 3 May.

Oil futures fell by over 3pc early in Asian trading hours, despite the exemptions, on concerns about the impact of the new tariffs on the global economy. The June Brent contract on the Ice exchange fell by as much as 3.2pc to a low of $72.52/bl in Asian trading, while May Nymex WTI dropped by 3.4pc to $69.27/bl. Both contracts remained close to their daily lows at 3:15pm Singapore time (07:15 GMT).

Exchange-traded metals prices also fell. The declines came despite a drop in the value of the dollar, which would typically support prices of commodities by making them cheaper for buyers using other currencies.

By Kevin Foster

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09/04/25

Delta pulls full-year forecast amid US tariffs: Update

Adds details from earnings call throughout. Houston, 9 April (Argus) — Delta Air Lines pulled its full-year 2025 financial guidance today, citing US tariff-related uncertainty. "Given the lack of economic clarity, it is premature at this time to provide an updated full-year outlook," the airline said Wednesday in an earnings call. Delta said it hoped the growing US tariff war with the world would be resolved through trade negotiations, but that it also told its main aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, that it would not purchase any aircraft that includes a tariff fee. "If you start to put a 20pc incremental cost on top of an aircraft, it gets very difficult to make that math work," chief executive Ed Bastion said in an earnings call today. In the meantime, Delta is protecting margins and cash flow by focusing on what it can control, including reducing planned capacity growth in the second half of the year to flat compared to last year, while also managing costs and capital expenses, Bastion said. Delta expects revenue in the second quarter of 2025 to be either 2pc higher or 2pc lower from the year earlier period with continued resilience in premium, loyalty and international bookings offsetting softness in domestic and standard flights. Punitive taxes on imports from key US trading partners were implemented on Wednesday despite President Donald Trump's claims of multiple trade deals in the making. Trump's 10pc baseline tariff on imports from nearly every country already went into effect on 5 April. The higher, "reciprocal" taxes went into effect today, although at midday Wednesday he announced a 90-day pause on most of the higher tariffs, while increasing tariffs on Chinese imports even higher. The company reported a profit of $240mn in the first quarter of 2025, up from $37mn in the first quarter of 2024. Confidence craters in 1Q Corporate travel started the year with momentum, but a reduction in corporate confidence stalled growth in February and March, Delta said. For the first quarter, corporate sales were up by low-single digits compared to the prior year, with strength led by the banking and technology sectors. The company's fuel expenses were down by 7pc in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the prior year period. The average price Delta paid for jet fuel was $2.45/USG, down by 11pc to the prior year period. Delta said it has seen "a significant drop off in bookings" out of Canada amid the trade disputes with that country which started earlier than the broader US tariffs. Meanwhile, Mexico is "a mixed bag," the company said. Delta is considering reducing capacity levels in Mexico and Canada in the future. The company reported a profit of $240mn in the first quarter of 2025, up from $37mn in the first quarter of 2024. By Eunice Bridges Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Delta pulls full-year forecast on tariff uncertainty

09/04/25

Delta pulls full-year forecast on tariff uncertainty

Houston, 9 April (Argus) — Delta Air Lines pulled its full-year 2025 financial guidance today, citing US tariff-related uncertainty. "Given the lack of economic clarity, it is premature at this time to provide an updated full-year outlook," the airline said Wednesday in an earnings call. Delta said it hoped the growing tariff war woudl be resolved through trade negotiations, but that it also told its main aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, that it would not purchase any aircraft that includes a tariff fee. In the meantime, Delta is protecting margins and cash flow by focusing on what it can control, including reducing planned capacity growth in the second half of the year to flat compared to last year, while also managing costs and capital expenses, chief executive Ed Bastion said. The company reported a profit of $298mn in the first quarter of 2025, up slightly from $288mn in the first quarter of 2024. The company's fuel expenses were down by 7pc in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the prior year period. The average price Delta paid for jet fuel was $2.45/USG, down by 11pc to the prior year period. By Eunice Bridges Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

S Korea unveils auto industry support after US tariffs

09/04/25

S Korea unveils auto industry support after US tariffs

Singapore, 9 April (Argus) — South Korea has unveiled planned emergency measures to support its automobile industry given the sweeping US tariffs, turning towards its domestic market and outwards to the "global south" to generate demand. South Korea exported nearly $127.8bn of goods to the US in 2024,accounting for about 18.7pc of its total exports. About almost $34.7bn were from passenger automotives. It will provide around 3 trillion South Korean won ($2bn) of new emergency liquidity support, expand its policy finance by W2 trillion to a total of W15 trillion and hand out more car export support. South Korea will also extend the electric vehicle (EV) corporate discount subsidy policy until the end of the year, and it will now support between 30-80pc of EVs' price, up from previously 20-40pc. A focus on the domestic market will help respond to lower export volumes given the US' tariffs, said the country's trade and industry ministry (Motie). The country will cut the special consumption tax on new car purchases from 5pc to 3.5pc until June, while not ruling out any other necessary additional support. It will also push its public sector, public institutions and local governments to buy "business vehicles" within the first half of 2025, which will likely buoy eco-friendly vehicle sales. Eco-friendly vehicles in South Korea refer to hybrids, battery EVs, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen-fuelled vehicles. Eco-friendly vehicle domestic sales surged by 50pc on the year to about 60,350 units in February, while exports rose by 32pc to almost 69,000 units. It is also turning to new "global south" markets by offering an extra budget on export vouchers and trade insurance support until the end of 2025, citing its agreements and negotiations with countries such as the UAE, Mexico, the Philippines and Ecuador. The combined market share of three South Korean battery firms — LG Energy Solution (LGES), SK On and Samsung SDI — on global EV battery installations in has further declined in January-February, according to the latest data from South Korean market intelligence firm SNE Research. They now take up 17.7pc of the global market share, down by almost 5.5 percentage points compared to a year earlier. "It has become also important for K-trio to come up with strategic measures to increase their local production in North America and diversify raw material suppliers," said SNE, citing the US tariffs. LGES last year said it is looking to produce energy storage system cells in the US through its subsidiary LGES Vertech from 2025. SK On earlier this week told Argus that the tariffs will have "limited" potential impact on its business, with its manufacturing facility in the US state of Georgia, SK Battery America, supplying batteries for its US sales volumes . By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Keystone oil pipeline shut down after ND spill: Update

08/04/25

Keystone oil pipeline shut down after ND spill: Update

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US faults EU carbon fee during tariff fight

08/04/25

US faults EU carbon fee during tariff fight

Washington, 8 April (Argus) — President Donald Trump's administration is citing the EU's upcoming tariff on carbon-intensive imports as one of the "unfair trade practices" that justified a tariff response. Trump has said a 20pc tariff on most EU goods and a higher tariff on many other key trading partners — set to take effect after midnight — are "reciprocal" to other countries' tariffs and non-tariff barriers, even though those tariffs are calculated based on each country's trade deficits and imports with the US. Trump has yet to even identify which trade policies he wants other countries to change before he would withdraw tariffs his administration expects will raise $600bn/yr in new revenue. But the US Trade Representative's office, in a social media post on Monday made in "honor" of Trump's tariffs, identified the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) — which will collect a carbon-based levy on imports such as steel, cement and fertilizer — as one of the examples of what it sees as an unfair trading practice. The Trump administration estimates $4.7bn/yr of US exports would be affected by the CBAM, which is set to take effect in 2026. "These EU regulations undermine fair competition, penalizing US companies while providing advantages to EU-based competitors," the US Trade Representative's office wrote in a series of posts on Tuesday that also criticized India and Thailand for imposing import restrictions on ethanol produced in the US. White House officials say more than 70 countries have approached the administration seeking deals on the tariffs since they were announced nearly a week ago. But with just hours before the tariffs take effect, Trump has yet to announce any definitive agreements to withdraw the tariffs. Instead, he has rejected offers from countries to zero out some of their tariffs. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Monday said the EU was "ready to negotiate" on tariffs, and would zero out its tariffs on industrial imports if the US agreed to do the same. But Trump on Monday said that offer was not enough. "We have a deficit with the European Union of $350bn, and it's gonna disappear fast," Trump said. "One of the ways that that can disappear easily and quickly is they're gonna have to buy our energy from us." Today, Trump said he had a "great call" with South Korea's acting president Han Duck-soo that created the "probability of a great DEAL for both countries." Trump cited a potential agreement that might include large-scale purchases of US LNG and investments tied to the 20mn t/yr Alaska LNG export project. Trump and his cabinet believe the tariffs will align with a goal to achieve "energy dominance" and increase the amount of US energy exported abroad. "At the end of the day, we're going to have growing American exports and reindustrialize the country," US energy secretary Chris Wright said today during an interview on CNBC. Trump's tariffs have already caused a selloff in equities and, according to many analysts on Wall Street, a higher likelihood of a recession. Oil prices have dropped because of a "sudden change in the economic outlook, whereas everyone just honestly 10 days ago was expecting modest but steady positive growth in the US", non-profit group Center for Strategic and International Studies' senior fellow Clayton Seigle said today. Republicans have largely backed Trump in his imposition of tariffs, with the hope the tariffs will be lifted as part of trade negotiations. But some Republicans have started criticizing the rationale for the tariff policy. "Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?" US senator Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) said in a hearing today with the US trade representative Jamieson Greer. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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