On today's podcast:
1) President Trump signed a landmark pact with visiting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to boost America’s access to rare earths and other critical minerals, an effort to counter China’s tight grip on the supply chains of key metals. The two governments will jointly invest in a swathe of mines and processing projects in Australia to boost production of commodities used in advanced technologies from electric vehicles to semiconductors and fighter planes. Australia has an $8.5 billion “pipeline that we have ready to go,” Albanese said at a meeting between the two leaders at the White House.
2) Small businesses are urging the US Supreme Court to affirm lower court rulings that President Trump's global tariffs amount to a massive illegal tax on American companies. The justices are set to hear arguments on whether Trump legally issued the tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law that gives the president financial tools to address national security, foreign policy and economic emergencies.
3) Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he will wait until President Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming weeks before deciding to whether to bring legislation on Russia sanctions to a vote. The bill would give Trump the authority to impose tariffs of up to 500% on imports from countries that buy Russian energy products and are not actively supporting Ukraine. This specifically targets major consumers of Russian energy, such as China and India.
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