A global trade war wasn’t on the radar when footwear maker Keen started planning a new shoe factory in Kentucky.

Nevertheless, the shoemaker’s move to expand its U.S. manufacturing capacity is set to pay off when it opens the facility next month, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Liz Young writes. The 60,000-square-foot factory near Louisville will nearly double the firm’s domestic output, just as rolled-back, but still-hefty tariffs on Chinese shoes make Keen’s boots and sandals more competitive. The privately held company has been making shoes in the U.S. since 2010, when manufacturing costs had started to climb in China, and it wanted to diversify its sourcing. The new factory’s location in fast-developing Bullitt County puts it near a distribution center, suppliers and a cluster of logistics businesses. The site allows Keen to reach 80% of American consumers with two-day shipping, while cutting transportation costs. Ahead of the opening, Keen closed a smaller factory in Oregon.

The factory will be heavily automated, with robots handling mundane tasks while an initial crew of 24 skilled workers handles precision work. Keen said it plans to hire more people as production ramps up.

Home Depot is betting that keeping prices steady might allow it to grab market share from competitors charging more to pass on tariff costs.

The Journal’s Denny Jacob reports that the big-box retailer has been pushing to get more of its home-improvement goods from outside of China, and is working with suppliers to keep prices low despite the trade war. This contrasts with Walmart, which last week said it would raise prices because of tariffs, drawing President Trump’s ire. Home Depot’s CFO said he expects no single country outside the U.S. will make up more than 10% of its purchases. Although its comparable sales slid 0.3%, in the U.S. they edged up 0.2%, as customers kept spending on painting, yardwork and other projects. The company is waiting for consumer confidence to brighten, as more expensive jobs that require financing look to be on hold.

• The European Union plans to charge a handling fee for low-value packages, posing a new threat to Chinese e-commerce companies such as Shein and Temu. (WSJ)
• The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled domestic solar-panel makers were harmed by cheap imports from four Southeast Asian nations, opening the way to steep new tariffs. (Reuters)
• Chinese shipments of smartphones to the U.S. fell to their lowest levels since 2011 in April as tariffs hit. (Bloomberg)
• Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged continued development of advanced manufacturing and national self-reliance during a factory visit. (South China Morning Post)

China mines about 70% of the world’s rare earths, the 17 metallic elements used in magnets that are crucial for military and civilian technologies.

That isn’t what worries officials in other countries, however.

It is the 90% share of processing for the rare earths mined worldwide that really concerns them, the WSJ’s Samantha Pearson and Jon Emont write. Beijing’s power over the market was demonstrated last month, when it briefly tightened restrictions on exports of rare earth materials. As interest grows in non-Chinese alternatives, Aclara Resources is planning to build a processing plant in the U.S., and is opening a rare-earths mine in Brazil to supply it. The Canadian company already has a buyer lined up. Germany’s VAC will make magnets using the rare earths at a factory it is building in South Carolina for clients including General Motors. Aclara says it will decide by August where in the U.S. it will construct its facility.

China’s benchmark lending rates were lowered by 10 basis points, after the nation’s central bank cut its policy rate to stimulate domestic demand. (WSJ)

Australia’s central bank lowered its benchmark cash rate by 0.25 percentage point to 3.85%. (WSJ)

Construction of the Empire Wind energy project off the coast of New York is set to resume after an abrupt about-face by the Trump administration. (WSJ)

Contemporary Amperex Technology’s shares soared on the Chinese battery maker’s Hong Kong debut, marking the world’s largest equity offering so far this year. (WSJ)

Honda Motor plans to reduce its investment in electric vehicles by more than $20 billion in the coming years as EV demand growth slows. (WSJ)

Two U.S. lawmakers called for a probe into Autel Energy, a Chinese EV-charging startup that does business in the U.S. (WSJ)

Canada Post received union notices warning that postal workers could hit the picket line starting Friday. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy signed an order requiring commercial truck drivers to speak English. (The Hill)

Military officials from the U.S. and Asia-Pacific allies warned that the threat of Chinese aggression is rising in a region where American resources are greatly stretched. (WSJ)

Yemen’s Houthi militants said they will target the Israeli port of Haifa in response to escalation of the war in Gaza. (Splash 247)

Peter Green Chilled, a logistics firm serving major British supermarkets, said it fell victim to a ransomware attack. (Supply Chain Digital)

Dubai’s DP World ordered 18 new automated stacking cranes for its London Gateway terminal from Finland’s Konecranes. (WorldCargo News)

GM stopped shipments of a small number of U.S.-made vehicles to China. (Transport Topics)

Mark R. Long is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at mark.long@wsj.com. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team on LinkedIn: Mark R. Long, Liz Young and Paul Berger.