Today’s (29 April) trade news features HM King Charles III’s speech to US Congress, a warning from a major multilateral body on rising export controls on critical minerals and the shock departure of the UAE from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).
A different kind of King’s Speech
King Charles’ stateside trip was hotly anticipated by both US President Donald Trump and the UK government, with the transatlantic relationship having been recently strained over the US/Israeli war in Iran.
It was hoped that Trump’s known fascination with royal pomp and grandeur would help the King to smooth over recent diplomatic cracks.
A key part of this programme was the UK monarch’s address to Congress – the first for 35 years following HM Queen Elizabeth II’s address in 1991 – in which he talked up the value of the UK-US relationship.
Amid tariff threats made earlier this month, he touted the value of trade between the two nations:
“We celebrate the US$430bn in annual trade that continues to grow. The US$1.7trn in mutual investment that fuels that innovation, and the millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic, supported across both economies.
“These are strong foundations on which to continue to build for generations yet unborn.”
After Trump threatened to remove the US from Nato, the King also highlighted both the group and the UK’s support for the US militarily in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, commenting that it was after the attacks that Nato’s Article 5 collective defense clause was invoked for the first time.
“We answered the call together as our people have done so for more than a century, shoulder to shoulder, through two world wars, the Cold War, Afghanistan and moments that have defined our shared security.”
The speech was warmly received by US lawmakers, who gave a standing ovation, and has been praised by commentators for holding a balance between critique and tact. Both Politico and the BBC ran write-ups that decode the diplomatic meaning behind the stately words.
Critical mineral controls up globally
Increasing export controls on critical minerals are “undermining their stable supply” and are being used by a wider range of countries than ever before, an annual update on the goods has found.
Published yesterday (28 April), the OECD Inventory of Export Restrictions on Critical Raw Materials 2026, which covers activity from 2024, said that controls on raw materials “remain at historically high levels” after increases between 2022 and 2023.
Notably it found that restrictions were implemented in 2024 by “a more diverse group of countries than in previous years”, highlighting “resource-rich economies in Africa and Central Asia” as contributing to this increase.
Myanmar, Sierra Leone and Nigeria led countries in applying new restrictions, followed by Angola, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Rwanda.
However, the report also noted that restrictions only rose slightly (0.6%) between 2023 and 2024, with more seismic shifts observed in the medium term. Restrictions increased fivefold between 2009 and 2024, with over a third of those measures introduced by India (18.5%) and China (16.6%).
Currently 70% of global exports of cobalt and manganese, 47% of graphite exports and 45% of rare earths are covered by restrictions, which can include export bans and additional taxes.
The OECD warned that such restrictions increase price volatility and market distortions, and encouraged cooperation to ensure “stable and more diversified supply in global markets”.
UAE leaves Opec
The UAE announced that it would leave the Opec group of Middle East oil producers.
Formed in 1960 to control prices and leverage the developing nations’ supply glut into geopolitical clout, Opec has grown from five founding nations (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela) into 12, with a fluctuating membership over the past few years.
It also forms the core of Opec+, a grouping that includes Russia, and its production targets have a large impact on the price of energy across the world. The UAE’s decision to leave the group has been interpreted as a significant blow to Opec, as it supplies approximately 15% of the group’s oil capacity.
It’s also been interpreted as an attempt by the UAE to improve ties with the US, after Trump asked Opec to lower prices earlier this year, and an opportunity for the Middle Eastern nation to capitalise on the diminished supplies and higher prices of oil stemming from the Iran war.
The UAE will “attempt to sell as much oil as they can to as many people as possible”, former International Energy Agency oil industry and markets division head Neil Atkinson told the BBC.
“That will run up against any attempts that the Opec group is making to keep prices high.”
For more on what the UAE’s departure means for international oil suppliers and global trade more broadly, members can read the latest instalment of Commodity in Focus.
In other news
- Resurfaced comments from the UK’s new ambassador to the US, Sir Christian Turner, on the transatlantic relationship have raised concerns that he could undo some of His Majesty’s work
- In a blow to the UK’s Russia sanctions regime, Reuters reports that almost 100 Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ ships crossed UK waters last month
Yesterday in Trade
- Iran’s ‘Hormuz-first’ ceasefire proposal poses problems for global shipping
- New guidance for UK businesses on emission-reduction scheme compensation criteria
- EU AI regulations could pose UK ‘reset’ challenges
You can read more about those stories here.
