Canadian trade negotiators are wagering that the country’s vast critical minerals resources could be decisive in talks over U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s threatened 25-per-cent tariff on industrial exports this month…But playing the critical minerals card will be tactically tricky and the odds of success are long, mining experts say…Joanna Kyriazis, director of global public affairs at Clean Energy Canada, a climate action think-tank at Simon Fraser University in B.C., reckons critical minerals are “one of our biggest strengths” in tackling U.S. tariffs and accelerating Canada’s energy transition….“We are fortunate to have many of the minerals and metals core to clean energy technologies — and that few countries around the world have. This should be an advantage,” she told Canada’s National Observer…"We are fortunate to have many of the minerals and metals core to clean energy technologies — and that few countries around the world have. This should be an advantage."…Ottawa is betting Canada’s abundance of cobalt, graphite, lithium, nickel and rare earth materials, will have significant clout in trade talks as the U.S. looks to reduce its reliance on China, the world’s largest critical mineral supplier…Canada will not stand by and watch its industries decimated by U.S. tariffs, Jonathan Wilkinson, the federal energy and natural resources minister, told Bloomberg after Trump’s latest threats…“We will need to respond in a thoughtful way, in ways that actually create maximum pressure on the president and on states that derive benefit from the trade they do with Canada,” Wilkinson said, adding that all options were on the table…He specifically highlighted the U.S. need for critical minerals “where we provide significant amounts and have the opportunity to provide much more.”…“Their alternative is to buy from China. And that’s actually not an alternative in some cases, because the Chinese have banned the export of a certain number of critical minerals,” Wilkinson said…China processes 60 to 70 per cent of the world’s lithium and cobalt used in batteries for electric vehicles. It also mines 60 per cent of the rare earth elements (REE) found in solar panel and wind turbine components, and processes 90 per cent of REEs also used in semiconductors…Beijing last week announced fresh export restrictions and bans on niche minerals and processing technology amid heightened trade tensions with Washington and retaliatory Western tariffs on Chinese EVs…This could play into Canada’s hands in the long term as the global critical mineral sector eyes a doubling in market value to US$770 billion by 2040, according to a bullish forecast by the International Energy Agency…But in the short term, the Canadian sector is still too small to be a decisive bargaining chip in imminent tariff talks, said Frik Els, a mining sector specialist at Adamas Intelligence, a research house…“Critical minerals is certainly one card Canada can play in these negotiations — but it is not a trump card, as some have been suggesting” due to the fact that Canada hasn’t yet developed most of its potential critical minerals deposits, Els told Canada’s National Observer…Canada’s ambition for a nationwide network of critical mineral mines “makes sense,” Els said, “but trying to use as-yet-unbuilt mines as leverage in a trade war I don’t think will work.”…Instead, pressure to “carve out” Canadian critical minerals from U.S. tariffs could come from U.S. industries reliant on these materials…“Canada has what the U.S. wants and needs, so we are well-positioned to be a strategic partner on critical minerals and maintain strong trade ties, regardless of what scenarios unfold under Donald Trump’s second term,” said Young, vice president of policy and government relations at New Economy Canada, an energy transition industrial development group…A typical Canadian mine from discovery to production can average 27 years, according to a study by S&P Global, slightly faster than the United States (29 years) but longer than Australia’s 20 years…Canadian mines, despite a lengthy development timeline, are more likely to enter production than new U.S. projects, S&P said…“Critical mineral mines should be fast-tracked as projects of national significance,” Young said.

Beijing has ordered Chinese investors in overseas mining projects to report their proven and prospective reserves of critical minerals, as competition with Washington is poised to escalate following Donald Trump’s inauguration as United States president next week…On Monday, the Ministry of Commerce expanded the list of mineral resources that Chinese mining enterprises operating overseas must declare, specifically asking for information about rare earths, titanium ore, zircon and tantalum ore…Chinese companies operating overseas now need to declare more than 41 types of mineral products, compared with 32 before. One of the additional items is antimony, which China stopped exporting in October…China is the world’s major importer of copper, aluminium, nickel and lithium and has invested heavily in mining operations in countries that have signed up to the Belt and Road Initiative, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Peru, Chile and Indonesia…China’s control of critical material is to create a potential tool to negotiate with Trump once he takes office…While Beijing strives for higher self-sufficiency, Washington has expressed concerns about China’s dominance in critical mineral production as it remains heavily dependent on Chinese for key minerals used in the production of semiconductors and advanced weaponry…Rob Wittman, a prominent member of the Critical Minerals Policy Working Group of the US House of Representatives’ Select Committee on the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), said last month that China is actively working to undermine US and allied efforts to develop alternative supply chains by securing global mining projects…There are no official figures available on overseas investments by Chinese mining companies, but an Ernst & Young report released in August last year said China carried out 23 overseas mining and metal-related investment transactions in the first half of last year – representing a year-on-year increase of 64.3 per cent.

South Korea's Hyundai Motor said on Friday it would introduce the cheapest compact electric car in Japan, to penetrate a market dominated by local giants with established petrol and hybrid vehicle technologies…The Japan launch of the Hyundai Inster follows attempts by Tesla and other foreign brands to enter a country seeing a slow take-up of EVs. With the Inster, Hyundai will take a low-price strategy akin to China's leading EV maker, BYD…The 2.85 million yen ($18,000) entry-model price tag will be the lowest for a compact electric car in Japan, below the 3.63 million yen BYD set in 2023 with its Dolphin…Last year, Hyundai sold only 607 vehicles in Japan, while BYD sold 2,223. Tesla did not disclose its Japan sales.

Tesla launched a new version of the Model Y, its best-selling car, in China on Friday, hoping that a redesigned exterior and upgraded features inside will help it regain market share taken by rivals such as Xiaomi…The new Model Y is priced from 263,500 yuan ($35,900)，5.4% more expensive than the previous version in China, Tesla's second-largest market, the U.S. automaker said on its Weibo social media account…Deliveries in China are set to begin in March, subject to regulatory approval and Tesla was also taking orders for the SUV in many other Asia Pacific markets. Details about Tesla's plans for the revamped version in North America and Europe were not immediately available…The long-range variant now has a driving range of 719 kilometres per charge, up from 688 km…Tesla first launched the Model Y in 2020 and it became the world's best-selling car in 2023. The ageing model lost some sales momentum last year, hurt by competition from local rivals in China, while in other markets demand for electric vehicles has weakened…The U.S. automaker's market share in China's battery electric vehicle market slipped to 10.4% last year, down from 11.7% in 2023…BYD is currently China's biggest seller of EVs while consumer electronics maker Xiaomi stormed the electric car market last year, delivering more than 130,000 of its first model, the SU7.