Latest news with #Sillamae
Forbes
10 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
U.S. - China Rare Earths Minerals Deal Can Be Upscaled Via G20
Samples of rare metals displayed in Sillamae, Estonia, where a company is building a new plant to ... More try and challenge China's grip on rare earth magnets, a vital component of electric vehicles. Photographer: Peter Kollanyi/Bloomberg The announcement of a deal between the United States and China on rare earth magnets for a range of technologies is a welcome reprieve for many technology companies and for the defense sector as well. Yet, this deal remains fragile in the context of capricious tariffs and a dysfunctional dispute resolution system within the World Trade Organization. What is now needed is to capitalize on the deal and use it as a confidence-building measure to establish a longer-term international agreement for managing critical minerals supply. In a recent paper, myself and a coalition of scholars from across a range of mineral producing and consuming countries have argued for a 'minerals trust' for the green transition. We also prepared an accompanying policy brief under the auspices of the United Nations University to provide specific policy recommendations ahead of the G7 meeting in Canada earlier this month. The G7 issued a communique on critical minerals on June 17th which was fairly broad in scope but most noteworthy was the fact that China was not singled out for constraining mineral supply. Furthermore, the communique explicitly mentioned the role of the more multilateral G20 organization in furthering aspirations for investment, particularly through the G20 Compact for Africa. China as well as Russia are of course members of the G20 along with other key mineral producers such as Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Brazil and South Africa. It would be opportune to now move the conversations on minerals diplomacy to the G20 which will incidentally be chaired by the United States of America in 2026. A key intermediary step will be the planned critical minerals conference this September in Chicago which has been announced already at the G7 meetings. At this conference, there needs to be consensus reached on what are realistic targets for 'near-shoring' and diversification based on thigh quality ore bodies and economically feasible technologies. Mineral extraction sites are geologically determined and any policies that set targets for domestic production need to be predicated in geoscience. The challenge at present is that there are more than 400 national policies on critical minerals in various forms worldwide according to the International Energy Agency's policy tracking tool. Most of these policies are not aligned with geoscience or economics of extraction. Furthermore, they often neglect the prospects for a circular economy as well for minerals. The rare earths deal between the United States and China should be expanded to have a systems level approach towards building a minerals trust, particularly for those metals needed for the Green Transition. The trust would also provide opportunities to have stockpiles and source metals from recycled sources. Currently, less than 5% of rare earth magnets are recycled but this may soon change based on recent technologies that have been developed by Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH). Yet much of the infrastructure from which these magnets would be recycled is also in China. Ultimately, even with diversification efforts, China's role in sourcing rare earths from both primary and secondary source cannot be discounted and pursuing a cooperative approach is both ecologically and economically prudent.
Russia Today
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Baltic country accuses Russia of detaining oil tanker
Estonian authorities have accused Russia of detaining a tanker carrying shale oil from the Baltic country. The incident reportedly took place not long after Tallinn attempted to inspect a vessel sailing from Russia. Western nations imposed maritime restrictions on Russia and an oil price cap on the country's crude exports, following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. They have since accused Russia of circumventing the restrictions by using a so-called 'shadow fleet' of tankers, which operate outside Western insurance systems. In a statement on Sunday, Estonia's Foreign Ministry claimed that earlier in the day, 'the Russian Federation detained the oil tanker Green Admire, sailing under the Liberian flag and owned by a Greek company, as it was departing from the Estonian Port of Sillamae and following a previously agreed route through Russian territorial waters.' According to officials in Tallinn, the vessel entered Russian waters under a trilateral agreement between Moscow, Tallinn and Helsinki, to avoid shallows. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stated that 'this is definitely connected to the fact that we have started to harass Russia's shadow fleet.' Tsahkna revealed that last week Estonian authorities attempted to 'inspect' an unflagged and uninsured vessel, which was passing through its exclusive economic zone, under suspicion that it has been sanctioned by the UK and belongs to Russia's 'shadow fleet.' A Russian fighter jet briefly violated Estonian airspace while accompanying the tanker, he added. Nikolay Patrushev, a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, last month said that the EU and the UK were mulling further restrictions to disrupt Moscow's shipping activities that 'increasingly resemble a maritime blockade.' The official, who chairs Russia's Maritime Board, warned the 'hotheads in London or Brussels' that Moscow would not hesitate to deploy its Navy to ensure the security of Russian shipping, should diplomatic or legal instruments prove ineffective. In recent months, NATO has increased its military presence in the Baltic Sea after claiming that Russia had intentionally damaged undersea cables in the region.
LBCI
18-05-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
Estonia says Russia detained a tanker in Baltic Sea
Russia detained a Greek-owned oil tanker on Sunday after it left an Estonian Baltic Sea port, the Estonian Foreign Ministry said, adding that it had alerted NATO allies to the incident. The Liberia-flagged ship Green Admire was leaving Sillamae port using a designated navigation channel that crosses Russian territorial waters, the ministry said in a statement. "Today's incident shows that Russia continues to behave unpredictably," said Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna. "I have also informed our Allies of the event." Reuters
Al Jazeera
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia detains Greek oil tanker after it departs Estonian port
Russia has detained a Greek oil tanker sailing under the Liberian flag as it left the Estonian port of Sillamae on a previously agreed route through Russian waters, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says. In a statement published on Sunday, the ministry added that the vessel, the Green Admire, was undertaking a navigational route established in a deal between Russia, Estonia and Finland. The Baltic nation will redirect traffic to and from Sillamea exclusively through Estonian waters to prevent similar incidents in the future, it added. 'Today's incident shows that Russia continues to behave unpredictably,' Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said. 'I have also informed our allies of the event,' he said, referring to other NATO members. Estonian Public Broadcasting (EPB), citing the Transport Administration, reported that the Greek tanker was carrying a cargo of shale oil destined for Rotterdam in the Netherlands. It added that such incidents had never occurred before. Vessels leaving Sillamae usually move through Russian waters to avoid Estonia's shallows, which can be dangerous for larger tankers, the EPB said. The incident took place after the Estonian navy on Thursday tried to stop an unflagged tanker that was said to be part of a Russian 'shadow fleet' of vessels sailing through Estonian waters. Russia responded by sending a fighter jet to escort the tanker, violating Estonia's airspace. The 'shadow fleet' is meant to help Moscow maintain its crude oil exports to avoid Western sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine.
