Alcoa modernises approvals with Federal Government

Today marks one year since US President Donald Trump sent shockwaves across global economies with the imposition of the US Government’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.While Australian exports were hit with the baseline 10%, other US trading partners were hit harder — Canada was hit with 35% and Brazil a whopping 50%.A sweeping 25% tariff on steel and aluminium products and a 50% tariff to copper and copper-containing products was also applied on all US imports.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the tariffs were totally unwarranted."President Trump referred to reciprocal tariffs. A reciprocal tariff would be zero, not 10%," he said."The administration's tariffs have no basis in logic and they go against the basis of our two nation's partnership.“This is not the act of a friend."In February, after several importers lodged lawsuits claiming that President Trump exceeded his authority and subjected US trade policy to his whims, the US Supreme Court declared the tariff regime illegal. The court found that President Trump did not hold the power to impose tariffs on imported goods under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).In December, the US Customs and Border Protection reported the amount of tariffs collected at risk of having to be refunded was US$133.5b.In early March, the US Court of International Trade (CIT) ordered the US Government to commence the refund process for the illegally obtained taxes.The total owed to Australian exporters is yet to be determined, but figures could be eye wateringly high.In 2025 Australian exports to the US totalled about $36.3b — with metals and minerals accounting for about half of that total — according to figures from the United Nations COMTRADE database.The US Customs and Border Protection agency is progressing a streamlined process for refunding the illegal tariff collections but has advised the new system could take up to ?45 days to review and process refund applications.In a filing with the US Court of International Trade, lodged on March 31, US Customs and Border Protection official Brandon Lord says development of a new refund claims portal ?system is now 60-85% complete.In his declaration, Mr Lord confirmed that more than 26,000 importers who paid US$120b in IEEPA tariffs were already registered to receive electronic refunds, though he did not provide a roll out date.Mr Lord also confirmed that the system, in its first phase, will only be capable of processing 63% of entries for which IEEPA duties were paid or have been deposited.Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) recently advised that it had paid almost $1.45b in taxes to the US Government in 2025 due to additional tariffs and — though the percentage of those payments that fell under the IEEPA has not been specified — may be amongst claimants.Since the US Supreme Court’s ruling, the tariff landscape has shifted— but not disappeared.Invoked under Section 122 of the US Trade Act, the US Government has now implemented a new, and legally sound, 10% tariff. However, under this legislation, the tariff can stay in place for a maximum of 150 days.There is no denying the weaponisation of trade is affecting global markets, however, as the world faces ongoing supply chain disruptions, the extent to which it is reshaping the dynamics of global trade is yet to be determined.

The Victorian Government has issued Victory Minerals an infringement notice for failing to report a fire for more than two days at its Ballarat gold mine located in Mount Clear.

Continuing fuel supply constraints tied to the war in Iran are impacting Australia’s exploration and mining sector, with smaller operators now halting operations.Blue Cap Mining has halted gold mining operations and sent workers home in WA due to a lack of guaranteed fuel supply, according to the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC).According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data, mining accounted for 35% of diesel used in Australia during FY24.AMEC says that although reports from across the country indicate that fuel continues to enter Australia, disruptions within the domestic supply chain are preventing it from reaching the customers who need it most.“We keep being told there is enough fuel supplies to meet demand, it just needs to get to the right places,” AMEC chief executive Warren Pearce said.“Well, right now, that simply isn’t happening.“Case in point is Blue Cap Mining, who this week chose to halt gold mining operations and send workers home in WA, due to the lack of guaranteed fuel supply.“It’s the small mining operations and mining services companies, that like farmers, rely on fuel provision from independent fuel companies, that are bearing the brunt of fuel shortages.”The Australian Mining Review has reached out to Blue Cap Mining for comment.On March 3, Federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen moved to reassure the public, saying Australia was “currently in excess of the minimum stock obligations” for petrol, diesel and jet fuel.At the time, Minister Bowen said Australia had 36 days’ worth of petrol, 34 days’ worth of diesel and 32 days’ worth of jet fuel on hand at present.The latest weekly figures — for stocks held on March 10 and released in the first weekly update on March 14 — showed 37 days of petrol, 30 days of diesel and 29 days of jet fuel at a normal rate of consumption.Following this, the Federal Government temporarily relaxed Australia’s fuel quality standards, allowing higher-sulfur petrol to be supplied for 60 days to ease regional shortages.Minister Bowen said the move would add about 100 million litres a month of new domestic petrol supply that would otherwise have been exported to be blended.There have been reports that major fuel wholesalers have been rationing supply to independent operators servicing regional and remote areas.AMEC says it is the major fuel wholesalers, such as BP, Chevron, Mobil and Viva Energy, who control the flow of fuel to independent distributors and ensure established supply chains remain functional.“From what our members are telling us, there is a serious disconnect between these wholesalers and the independent distributors,” Mr Pearce said.“Independent operators know where the fuel needs to go, but they’ve been rationed down by the wholesalers.“We need to see the fuel wholesalers re-engage with independent operators and make sure the system that has worked flawlessly year on year for us, continues to work.”The Federal Government temporarily released up to 20% of the baseline Minimum Stockholding Obligation, making up to 762 million litres of petrol and diesel available to help ease fuel shortages in regional Australia.Fuel companies will only be allowed to relax their storage obligations if they are taking steps to prioritise supply to regional customers, allocate reasonable additional supply to bulk customers and are providing volumes needed to help meet usual demand — not to customers seeking to profiteer from price spikes, panic purchasing or stockpiling.

Yesterday, Australia’s Liberal Party abandoned its policy to achieve net zero — claiming emissions goals are driving up energy prices.