The recent rise in rare earth prices has created an early stress test for one of Washington’s most novel industrial-policy tools, and for the moment the mechanism is working in the U.S. government’s favor. Prices for neodymium-praseodymium, the combined rare earth product known as NdPr and essential for permanent magnets, have moved above the $110 per kilogram floor embedded in the Pentagon’s 2025 agreement with MP Materials.

That means the Department of Defense does not currently need to make support payments under the price-floor arrangement, while the contract structure also gives the government a share of upside if prices stay elevated after the relevant production milestones are met. 

The global manufacturing landscape is increasingly shadowed by uncertainty over future U.S. tariffs, as businesses across Asia, Europe, and the United States grapple with how to adapt to the threat of further trade disruption under President Donald Trump’s protectionist agenda. While some countries and sectors managed to maintain or even accelerate growth, the broader trend pointed to fragile gains and uneven resilience across the industrial map.

In Asia, manufacturing activity offered a mixed picture. Japan’s factories recorded their first growth in more than a year, with the au Jibun Bank PMI nudging up to 50.1, helped by stronger output even as new orders fell on tariff worries. South Korea’s factories contracted for a fifth straight month, though at a slower pace, with sentiment stabilizing after a snap presidential election ended prolonged political uncertainty.

Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has announced a significant discovery of light oil and associated gas in the offshore Al-Nokhatha field. Located east of Kuwait’s Failaka Island, this field spans an estimated area of 96 square kilometers, marking a major advancement in Kuwait’s marine hydrocarbon exploration efforts. Currently, the…