The Trump administration will meet with officials from over 50 nations on Wednesday to expand Project Vault, its $12 billion reserve for critical minerals, in a bid to end reliance on China. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary Marco Rubio will meet with representatives from Europe, Asia and Africa to expand this effort into a global “buyers club.”
To further support President Trump’s critical mineral goals, US senators will introduce legislation to reauthorize funding for the US Export-Import Bank for the next 10 years.
Meanwhile, Trump on Monday said the US and India had agreed to a trade and tariff deal after he spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Trump said the baseline US tariff rate on goods from India would drop to 18% from 25%. The US president also claimed that Modi had “agreed to stop buying Russian Oil,” which would further lower the US’s tariff rate on India. The White House confirmed that an additional 25% “secondary” tariff on India over its purchases of Russian oil would also be dropped.
“Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The apparent US deal with India comes as US trade partners are clinching long-negotiated deals in a rebuke to the Trump tariff regime. India and the EU announced a trade deal last week that the EU dubbed the “mother of all deals” after years of talks.
Trump has in recent weeks leveled new tariff threats at Canada and Mexico, part of a recent blitz aimed at allies that rivals his bluster from early in his second term.
Trump threatened to hit Canada’s aircraft imports with a 50% tariff and said the US would also decertify all new jets from the likes of Bombardier (BDRBF), claiming Canada has used certification hurdles to effectively ban the sale of US Gulfstream jets. Meanwhile, Mexico is facing the potential of levies after Trump promised to impose new tariffs on countries providing oil to Cuba.
The actions continue a string of renewed tariff-based threats from the president. Trump roiled markets earlier this year after he threatened tariffs on European nations that he said were getting in the way of his pursuit of the island. He later called them off.
Trump looks to rebuild mineral supply chains for everything from jet engines to phone
The Trump administration will be launching a $12 billion “emergency warehouse” for critical minerals needed to build cars, phones, and jets. The plan will include buying and storing these minerals now. The US hopes this will reduce its and other countries’ reliance on China for supplies.
The critical mineral’s stockpile news was released on Monday, and Vice President JD Vance plans to deliver a keynote speech on Wednesday at a meeting with the Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials from Europe, Asia, and Africa.
US trade chief: India to maintain some agriculture protections in deal with Trump
The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it plans to reduce India’s tariffs on American industrial goods to zero from 13.5%, but will allow India to protect its farmers from foreign competition.
The US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer made the statement a day after President Trump agreed to reduce tariffs on New Delhi, claiming India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop purchasing Russian Oil.
Trump hit India with 50% tariffs last year, 25% of which was a penalty for purchasing Russian oil, which Trump claimed was helping to fund the war in Ukraine.
Trump’s trade pact with India also includes the dropping of a 25% tariff over Russian oil
President Trump announced Monday that the “reciprocal” tariff rate on goods from India would drop to 18% from 25%, but that announcement underplayed the extent of the tariff reduction in evidence Monday in what the president described as a trade deal between the two nations.
A White House official confirmed that, in addition to the reduction Trump outlined, the White House is also planning to drop a separate tariff of 25% on Indian goods over its Russian oil purchases, which previously amounted to a 50% tariff on Indian goods.
The new total tariff rate of 18% was what Prime Minister Narendra Modi quickly touted in his own social media post after the call with Trump, offering “Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India” but not outlining any of the changes on his end, which Trump listed.
Trump said Monday that India had agreed to stop buying Russian oil and also reduce their tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States “to ZERO.”
Trump to lower tariffs on India, claims Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil
President Trump on Monday said the US and India had agreed to a trade deal after he spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Trump said the baseline US tariff rate on goods from India would drop to 18% from 25%. The US president also claimed that Modi had “agreed to stop buying Russian Oil.” India is also currently facing an additional 25% “secondary” tariff on its purchases of Russian oil.
“Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Modi also agreed to buy American products “at a much higher level,” Trump said.
The apparent US deal with India comes as US trade partners are clinching long-negotiated deals in a rebuke to the Trump tariff regime. India and the EU announced a trade deal last week that the EU dubbed the “mother of all deals,” which came after years of negotiations between the two sides.
Trump launches $12B critical mineral stockpile to to stop reliance on China
President Trump is planning to launch a $12 billion minerals stockpile, according to Bloomberg News, in a bid to counter the US’s reliance on China for rare earth materials.
The initiative has been dubbed Project Vault and will combine $1.67 billion in private capital with a $10 billion loan from the US Export-Import Bank. It is hoped that this venture will help acquire and store minerals for automakers, tech companies and other manufacturers.
Rare earth materials are key components used in a variety of products, such as smartphones, cars and rechargeable batteries. China has the largest reserve of rare earths and last year restricted exports of the materials due to Trump’s tariffs. In November, China lifted the restrictions as part of a one-year trade truce with the US.
Mexico to seek ‘diplomatic’ ways to help Cuba after new Trump oil tariff
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that her country will look for alternate ways to help Cuba, including “diplomatic” solutions after President Trump signed an order to levy tariffs on countries that supply Cuba with oil, Reuters reported. Mexico is one of the last nations that supplies Cuba with oil.
US trade deficit widens by the most in nearly 34 years in November
The US trade deficit — the value of imports minus the value of exports — swung wider in November as trade continued to shift in response to the Trump administration’s tariff policies.
Toyota defy’s Trump tariffs and retains top auto crown in 2025 with record sales
President Trump’s global tariffs have failed to stop Toyota Motors (TM), the Japanese car company said on Thursday that it had sold a record 11.3 million vehicles globally in 2025.
Toyota Motors will retain its position as the world’s top-selling automaker in 2025, and its recent sales growth has come despite Trump’s aggressive tariff policies.
Trump initially imposed 25% tariffs on Japanese automakers but reduced them to 15% after reaching a deal with Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
The stock rose 2% during early trading on Thursday.
Hyundai Motor reports bigger-than-expected profit fall in Q4 as US tariffs bite
Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) reported worse-than-expected fourth quarter operating profit on Thursday, with the company citing President Trump’s tariffs as a key factor. The South Korean automaker did forecast higher sales and profit margins, but the drop marks the third consecutive decline in quarterly profit for the carmaker.
Trump initially hit Seoul with 25% tariffs on imported autos, which were later cut to 15% in April as part of a trade deal. However, this week, Trump threatened to increase tariffs on South Korea back up to 25%. Later, Trump told reporters that he hoped the two countries would be able to work something out.
Swiss exports to US hit record in 2025, defying Trump’s tariffs
Defying President Trump’s tariffs, Switzerland managed to export a record number of goods to the US last year despite Trump imposing some of his highest tariffs on the country.
Excluding gold, Swiss shipments worth $71.5 billion went to the US in 2025. This represents a 3.9% increase from 2024, according to data published by the Swiss customs office on Thursday.
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