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  China controls the rare earths the world buys - can Trump's new deals change that? US President Donald Trump has signed a flurry of deals on his Asia visit to secure the supply of rare earths, a critical sector that China has long dominated. The deals with Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia differ in size and substance and it's too early to assess their tangible impact. But they all include efforts to diversify access to the minerals that have become essential for advanced manufacturing, from electric vehicles to smartphones. The agreements, which aim to lock partners into trading with the US, are a clear bid to reduce dependence on China, ahead of a key meeting with its leader Xi Jinping. They could eventually challenge Beijing's stranglehold over rare earths, but experts say it will be a costly process that will take years. "Building new mines, refining facilities, and processing plants in regions such as Australia, the United States, and Europe comes ...
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     No need for 'large' council tax hikes - Robison


Council tax increases should be kept to a “minimum” next year, Finance Secretary Shona Robison has claimed. Her government is planning to end the moratorium on local authority rates from April.

 Robison said councils should be prevented from introducing any “major” tax increases if the proposed £1bn in funding for councils is raised. Ahead of the Budget, the council body Cosla warned that increases may be needed to protect “essential services”. It is yet to issue a full response to the government’s spending plans, with a meeting with council leaders due on Friday. Council tax is set, managed and spent by local authorities. The government has previously offered them a financial incentive to comply with a cap or freeze.

 Robison told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “The arrangement we are giving local authorities, I think, means they will not have to make major increases in council tax.” He added: “I don’t think there is any administration of any political colour that would want to see the public eye, given this settlement, and increase council tax beyond what is necessary. “And I am sure that there will be a sensible outcome to this discussion.” Funding for local authorities will exceed £15bn for the first time under the government’s budget plans. Robison said this would include £289m of non-ring fenced discretionary funding in the general revenue grant. That record settlement would still be less than the £15.4bn Kosla had set before the budget. 

A recent survey by the Local Government Information Unit found that around a fifth of councils are considering a tax increase of at least 10% next year. Since 2007, council tax has generally been either frozen or increased by Holyrood. According to figures for 2021-22, council tax revenue made up around a fifth of local authority funding. The rate was frozen in 2024-25, with the government paying councils more than £200m to cover the costs. A freeze was welcome news for homeowners, but it has left councils desperately short of cash. The move has also been criticised as an inefficient way of helping the worst-off, with rates based on property values ​​since 1991. After the budget, Kosla said it would spend the coming days analysing the impact on local authorities

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