Trump Trade: President Trump closes billion-dollar deals with Australia

Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly:

U.S., AUSTRALIA DEAL: President Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a Critical Minerals Framework “to unleash the potential of our abundant natural resources-a model for supply-chain cooperation globally,” according to a White House statement. The U.S. and Australian governments intend to invest more than $3B together in critical mineral projects in the next six months, with recoverable resources in the projects estimated to be worth $53B. The Export-Import Bank of the United States is issuing seven Letters of Interest for more than $2.2B in financing, unlocking up to $5B of total investment, to advance minerals and supply-chain security projects. The U.S. Department of War will invest in the construction of a 100 metric ton-per-year advanced gallium refinery in Western Australia. Australia agreed to purchase $1.2B in Anduril unmanned underwater vehicles and take delivery of the first tranche of Apache helicopters in a separate $2.6B deal. Australia’s superannuation funds will increase investments in the United States to $1.44 trillion by 2035 – an increase of almost $1 trillion from current levels. The United States and Australia agreed to develop and launch a bilateral Technology Prosperity Deal to establish joint initiatives to cooperate and invest in AI, quantum, and other critical technologies.

While Donald Trump’s backing of Australia’s critical minerals will bring financial support to the industry, experts believe the U.S. president will have to wait longer before he can shift the supply chain away from China and weaken its dominance in the market, Melanie Burton of Reuters reports. On Monday, the U.S. and Australia committed $3B to mining and processing projects, which the White House believes could unlock deposits of critical minerals worth $53B. Rare earths are common in the Earth’s crust and China has mastered the technically difficult refining process, comparatively cheaply. The Fly notes that companies involved in the development and mining of rare earth minerals include Nova Minerals (NVA), Ioneer (IONR), Lynas Rare Earths (LYSCF), MP Materials (MP), Energy Fuels (UUUU), NioCorp (NB) and VanEck Vectors Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF (REMX).

ARGENTINA BAILOUT: A collection of large U.S. banks including Citi (C), JPMorgan (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), and Goldman Sachs (GS) is trying to put together a $20B loan to Argentina without leaving themselves on the hook to effectively-bankrupt nation, the Wall Street Journal’s Alexander Saeedy and Santiago Perez report, citing people familiar with the matter. The bank loans would be part of the White house’s plan to bail out the finances of Argentine President Javier Milei’s government with a $40B package, which includes a $20B currency swap and a $20B lender-led debt facility, the authors note. The lenders are seeking some type of assurance or promise to ensure they will get their funds back, the authors say, noting that bankers are awaiting guidance from the U.S. Treasury Department on what collateral Argentina would be able to provide.