{"id":90480,"date":"2024-08-29T10:00:42","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T08:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/?p=90480"},"modified":"2026-04-24T14:59:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:59:44","slug":"metallhandel-blinder-fleck-in-der-lieferkette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/metallhandel-blinder-fleck-in-der-lieferkette\/","title":{"rendered":"Metals trade \u2013 the blind spot in the supply chain"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Metal trade: The Hidden Power Behind Global Raw Materials Flows<\/h2>\n

Why Trade Needs to Be More Focused<\/h3>\n

When talking about raw materials, it's mostly about mines, mining areas and new projects. On the other hand, much less attention is paid to a group of actors that decisively determines how these raw materials are distributed worldwide: The metal trade.<\/p>\n

Traders are a central link in the global raw material system. Not only do they ensure that metals move from mining regions to industrial centres, but they also shape the economic conditions under which this happens. Nevertheless, their role remains largely underexposed politically.<\/p>\n

More than a mediator: How Traders Structure Markets<\/h3>\n

Metal traders organize the international exchange of copper, aluminum, nickel, cobalt or lithium. They connect producers with customers and thus ensure the supply of entire industries.<\/p>\n

But its importance goes beyond that: Through pre-financing, long-term supply contracts and price agreements, they create the basis for many mining projects to be realized economically at all. They thus act not only as intermediate bodies, but also as active co-creators of global commodity markets.<\/p>\n

A system with gaps in responsibility<\/h3>\n

Despite this influential position, commodity traders have so far been subject to only limited binding requirements in the field of environmental and human rights protection. There is often a lack of clear requirements for systematically capturing risks or disclosing them along the supply chain.<\/p>\n

This leads to:<\/p>\n