USA Tariff Proposals, page-3

That's for sure. Lithium will be continually needed by the US (and everyone else) for the upcoming electric vehicle revolution which is an important age in manufacturing history. If the US motor industry is ailing for margin they certainly don't want tariffs on the energy sources, lithium, cobalt etcetera to not stilt progress in an industry that already has an advanced beginning through Tesla and the like. Pioneer's future product lines would not be affected as they are priority global needs on a new motor industry development in progress.. No mention of tariffs on lithium per se. A safe position I would say.

Mr Trump has a particular gripe with Free Trade benefits to other big guys and has stated the United States would apply duties of 25 per cent on imported steel and 10 per cent on aluminium to protect US car trade producers, boost their own steel and aluminium industries to somehow become self sufficient and give them national security by improving their own steel making and aluminium industries. In times of possible military conflict they do not wish to be bankrupt to recalcitrant nations – especially Steel and Aluminium suppliers. Even the Pentagon has come against these tariffs for security reasons when two of their biggest suppliers are Europe and Canada, their staunch allies in times of conflict. The stab at China as a threat is diminished when you consider Canada supplies the US with 4 or 5 times more aluminium than China and China doesn't come into the top ten when it comes to supplying steel to US. Although China has been accused of dumping low grade steel around the globe.

The ABC Business News when asked where does this leave Australia in terms of Steel and alumina; they say, - Well we are nowhere near the top 10 in terms of US steel imports and we snuck into equal 10th spot — along with Germany and India — in alumina and aluminium imports at $US300 million last year.ile the US is our second-biggest importer of aluminium goods, it accounts for barely 10 per cent of exports.
China is a far more serious buyer, shovelling in 32 million tonnes, or about three-quarters of Australia's export production. Australia's biggest steel-maker Bluescope may even be a net beneficiary of the Great Big Trump Tariff trade war.

The company exports about 300,000 tonnes from its Port Kembla mill to the US west coast a year, where its coated and largely sold as its Colorbond product.
That represents about 10 per cent of Bluescope's production. Not insignificant, but not huge.
Bluescope has invested about $3 billion into its US steel business and employs about 3,000 US citizens in its endeavours.
It is loathe to discuss what the tariff means for it until it sees the details, which are expected to be released next week, but it hopes to win exemptions as it processes its imported steel on US soil, behind the wall.
But the big beneficiary for Bluescope may be its now wholly-owned Northstar steel mill at Delta, Ohio.
It has been a big part of Bluescopes remarkable turnaround contributing $145 million — or about a third — of the company's pre-tax first-half earnings announced last month.

It now produces about 2,000 tonnes of US steel a year, more than quadrupling output since Bluescope first took a 50 per cent stake in the business in the 90s. As a biggish mill employing US workers and producing US steel, Northstar may be a brilliant hedge against any fall in prices caused by several million tonnes of steel washing around the world, trying to find a market outside the US.
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RIO maybe not so lucky As one of the biggest aluminium exporters to the US through its expensive — and almost company destroying —pre-GFC acquisition of Alcan, Rio Tinto arguably has the most to lose.
The bulk of the old-Alcan smelting operations are unfortunately on the wrong side of the tariff wall, in Canada. From a US security position though RIO is working on the premise that they are pro US and there fore a good supply risk, long term and trustworthy and hoping for some sanctions. (Hope so for their sake).


Anyway to discuss this at this stage is helpful from different angles and companies but no-one is anywhere until the US clarifies the details with steel and aluminium and what the retaliations will be. China's already indicated a big move on their soy-bean position and Canada, the biggest supplier of steel and aluminium to the United States, said it would retaliate if hit by U.S. tariffs. and the European Union raised the possibility of taking countermeasures, France said the duties would be unacceptable, and China urged Trump to show restraint.

So on and on it goes with everyone waiting on the details as it out as it goes along.

Pioneer Resources working towards results with Caesium, Lithium, Cobalt and Gold looks a fairly safe bet to me and should be in the safe zone. Hope it pans out okay for other companies.. Some will have to tough it out. We hope the crowd can nut out what is a good prospect.

DYOR
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