Kate Bullivant

Some products with rare earth materials originating from China will require export licences, as will some goods produced with Chinese technology.

The new rules come as President Trump and China's Xi Jinping prepare to meet at the end of the month.

They expand on previous moves by Beijing that have choked the global supply of rare earths and put them at the centre of trade negotiations with Washington.

Over in Hong Kong, shares of Hang Seng Bank surged more than 25% today after HSBC offered to take it private in a $13.6 billion deal.

HSBC already owns nearly two-thirds of the lender, and the deal comes as the London-based bank sharpens its focus on Asia.

And we're exclusively reporting that the Trump administration isn't planning to impose tariffs on generic drugs from foreign countries.

Generic drugs make up about 90% of medicines dispensed to Americans every day, from antibiotics to heart medications and are largely sourced from abroad.

The move, which isn't final and could change in the coming weeks, significantly narrows the scope of Trump's 100% levies, targeting drugs made by companies that don't manufacture in the US.

Coming up, the prospect of French snap elections is averted for now, as President Macron prepares to name his fifth prime minister in a year.

We'll check in with our Paris bureau chief on why France is becoming ungovernable.

That's after the break.

French President Emmanuel Macron plans to appoint a new prime minister in the next two days, buying himself time to pull the country out of fiscal disarray.

He needs his government to pass a budget that narrows the country's deficit, something four prime ministers have tried and failed to do.

Here to explain why that's proving so tricky and where that leaves Macron himself is our Paris bureau chief, Stacey Mictry.

Stacey, you report that Macron has been wielding the threat of holding parliamentary elections after the abrupt resignation of his prime minister on Monday.

It sounds like he's playing a bit of a game of political chess here.

Can you unpack just some of the dynamics for us?

OK, and his gambit seems to have worked.

You reported yesterday that Macron's departing prime minister said he sees a path to cobble together a government and get a budget passed.

Does that mean we're out of the woods, though?