Good morning. The U.S. is banning the export of lithium-ion battery and tungsten waste in an effort to curb its reliance on China and secure more of the critical materials its defense industry needs.

• Export prohibitions: Beginning later this month, certain battery scrap and tungsten waste in the U.S. must be sold domestically, according to a Department of Commerce rule published on the Federal Register. The ban will be in effect for a year.

• Mineral race: The move comes as the U.S. and other Western governments race to secure the raw materials that are crucial for defense and other industries, but are largely controlled by China. Beijing began throttling exports of some of those materials in recent years, raising global alarm.

• Security threat: The Federal Register notice said President Trump had determined that a shortage of critical materials posed a growing national defense and security risk. The new restrictions are necessary “to ensure an adequate supply of these materials deemed essential to the national defense,” the notice said.

White House AI guidelines exempt U.S. open models from government review

The Trump administration’s new guidelines for powerful artificial-intelligence tools exempt open models made by U.S. companies, a gap that marks the White House’s latest bid to ensure AI tools are safe without slowing down innovation.

Under a framework that administration officials discussed with executives from leading AI companies Tuesday, only makers of closed, proprietary U.S. models that demonstrate state-of-the-art capabilities in cybersecurity and hacking based on performance benchmarks would have to voluntarily submit those models to the government for testing before they are released, people familiar with the matter said.

China sanctions U.S. firms, launches first trade security probe

Risk Journal reports that China’s Commerce Ministry on Wednesday sanctioned seven American companies, launched the country’s first-ever national security investigation into foreign trade and tightened export controls on drones bound for the U.S. (free link).

The actions are Beijing’s most concrete countermeasures to date following Washington’s decision to blacklist more than 40 Chinese firms over forced labor and tighten telecom restrictions on Chinese equipment.

• A federal judge struck down legal protections for the professionals charged with carrying out crypto platform Voyager Digital Holdings’ liquidation plan, saying bankruptcy courts can’t constrain future government law-enforcement actions.

• The U.K.’s top financial regulator is changing its rules around information sharing tied to initial public offerings, as London seeks to become a more attractive listing destination.

• Ukraine sanctioned Russian entities it said are connected to Moscow’s military-industrial complex, a move seen as a possible steppingstone to equivalent European Union measures.

The per-pound price of copper futures for delivery this month, a record high. AI-related demand and tariffs are driving up the price of the metal.

Negotiators close in on deal with Iran to open Hormuz

Iran and Oman were finalizing a draft agreement Wednesday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz that would give Tehran oversight of ships entering the Persian Gulf but wouldn’t let it levy tolls or service fees, people familiar with the matter said.

The parties have agreed on the main points of the draft—which would set up an inbound lane near Iran and an outbound lane near Oman—and have shared it with the U.S., countries in the region and Iran’s top leaders, who still needed to sign off, they said.

U.K. financial watchdog steps up measures over climate risks

The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority is warning financial firms about the risks climate change poses to their businesses, reaching out as part of efforts to work more closely with banks, pension funds and insurers over the risks flooding, wildfire and extreme heat pose to their businesses.

The FCA, which launched a new website aimed at the financial sector, pointed to an Environment Agency forecast that more than six million houses in the U.K. are at risk of damage from flooding.

• Taiwan kicked off 10 days of military and civil defense exercises on Wednesday, advancing its strategy for deterring a Chinese invasion. As geopolitical tensions and evolving threats create new security challenges in the Pacific, the U.S. and its allies are working together to prepare for a conflict that could span the world’s largest ocean.

• Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva accused President Trump of trying to interfere in Brazil’s October election.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin named a chief for a new drone-warfare wing and moved around a clutch of other commanders as Moscow tries to revive its sputtering campaign in Ukraine.

• A vote on leaving Canada is the gamble of a lifetime for Alberta’s leader.

• New York City’s business elites are long accustomed to direct access to City Hall, where even Democratic mayors felt the need to court the city’s wealthiest and most influential corporate leaders. That access is getting shredded by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

• Switzerland-based Sandoz Group is in talks with the U.S. government about manufacturing investments in the country and doesn’t see President Trump’s planned tariffs on generic medicines as a major threat, the drugmaker’s chief executive said.

• Google announced new leadership of its artificial-intelligence operations Wednesday.

• Progressive Abdul El-Sayed defeated Representative Haley Stevens to win the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in Michigan.