On April 2, 2026, the White House ushered US steel trade policy into "Version 2.0." This strategic shift goes beyond simple tariff hikes. It uses full-value taxation and melt-and-pour traceability to block low-end imported raw materials, while applying structural tariff reductions to finished products to ease manufacturing inflation. Ultimately, this two-pronged approach aims to forcibly bring the global supply chain back to domestic US steel production.

On March 30, Republican Senators Cynthia Lummis and Bill Cassidy jointly proposed the Mined in America Act, aiming to promote the return of cryptocurrency mining to the U.S., while legislating the strategic Bitcoin reserves established by Trump through executive order into the legal framework.

In Q1 2026, China’s aluminum semis exports showed a pronounced pattern of product-category divergence amid the interplay of three factors: the long-term impact of the cancellation of export tax rebates in December 2024, the divergence in demand structures outside China, and the sudden outbreak of geopolitical conflict in the Strait of Hormuz.....

Korea’s battery industry is expanding beyond EVs into ESS and other applications. As a result, competition is shifting from product performance toward broader supply chain capabilities. InterBattery 2026 highlighted this transition.

With utilization rates among Korean battery manufacturers remaining around 50% and reflecting a timing mismatch between demand and supply, utilization is increasingly emerging as a key indicator of cost structure and operational efficiency in a context where capacity expansion has preceded demand realization.

On March 27, at the “Forum on Innovative Development of Cross-Border Data Flows” of the 2026 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference, CAAM and the Beijing Representative Office of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Promoting Cross-Border Automotive Data Flows and Advancing High-Quality Industry Development. Upholding the principles of complementary advantages, resource sharing, mutually reinforcing development, and win-win cooperation, the two sides will strengthen policy exchanges in the field of cross-border automotive data flows, promote innovative applications of digital technologies to empower cross-border automotive data flows, facilitate positive interaction between regulatory authorities and industry stakeholders, and provide automakers with more opportunities for cooperation and development.