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China’s rare earth export curbs hit global auto industry

Some European auto parts plants have suspended output and Mercedes-Benz is considering ways to protect against shortages of rare earths, as concerns about the damage from China’s restrictions on critical mineral exports deepen across the globe. China’s decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of rare earths and related magnets has upended the supply chains central to automakers, aer

Deal with Xi ‘extremely hard’, says Trump

Donald Trump said on Wednesday that it was “extremely hard” to reach a deal with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but the EU touted progress in its own trade talks with Washington even though the US president doubled global metal tariffs. Trump’s latest trade moves came as ministers from Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries gathered in Paris to discuss the outlook fo

Punjab to fund its new tariff cut with power plants’ profit

A day after its decision to reduce power tariffs to provide relief in electricity bills, the Punjab government on Wednesday said the relief will be financed with billions in profits hitherto harvested by two government-owned power companies, the Quaid-e-Azam Thermal Power Private Limited and Punjab Thermal Power Private Limited. The provincial cabinet had decided to cut the power tariffs of the

Exports contract 10pc in May

Merch­a­ndise exports decreased by 10 per cent in May, continuing the negative trend for the current fiscal year, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The growth in export proceeds began to decelerate in October, and the pace progressively slowed in the months that followed, eventually shrinking by 5.57pc in February, 8.93pc in April, and 10.07pc in May. Export growth returned in

Punjab mulls waiving tax on local cotton

Punjab agriculture authorities are hopeful that taxes on local cotton will be withdrawn in the next budget to provide it a level playing field. Punjab Agriculture Minister Syed Ashiq Kirmani told a delegation of the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association on Wednesday that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has carried the demand of abolishing taxes on local cotton to the pre-budget meeting of all chief m