dark raw materials

Energy and raw materials are sharing the cake of the benefits derived from the war.

In the first case, although with months of delay, the European Commission has already made a move so that the oil, gas and electricity companies compensate —via taxes— the severe income losses suffered by families.

A step that Spain had already taken.

On the second flank, however, everything remains to be done: commodity trading, an activity whose intermediation takes place in a permanent and enormous shadow zone —as dark as it is beneficial to its interests—, has seen its profits grow to levels unpublished.

While a social and business majority suffers the bite of inflation, these intermediaries move like a fish in water in this environment of overlapping crises: from covid-19 to the invasion of Ukraine.

The war —and the rises in the price of energy, food and metals— is music for the sector's income statements, at the expense of consumers and producers.

The data is crystal clear: Glencore, specialized in mining and energy, recorded a profit of 19,000 million euros in the first half of the year;

Vitol, whose activity rests largely on fuels (but not only), earned 4,500 million -more than in all of 2021-, and Trafigura -metals and fuels-, 2,700 million, almost 30% more, according to data published by the companies themselves and by the Reuters agency.

A tailwind that they are also taking advantage of to ensure their future, accelerating their conversion from fossil to critical materials for the energy transition.

If the history of this sector shows anything, it is precisely its chameleonic skills and its ability to stay one step ahead of events.

Supervising these companies is not an easy task for several reasons.

The main one, of a geographical nature: they are located outside the European or American perimeter, a great impediment when it comes to forcing them to pay taxes according to their income.

Glencore and Vitol are Swiss;

Trafigura is halfway between the Swiss country and Singapore, and the US firm Cargill, focused on grains and agricultural raw materials, centers most of its operations in Delaware.

Jurisdictions all of them that are distinguished by their fiscal laxity and, in many cases, by the lack of scruples when it comes to accepting according to what business in their territory.

The tax is not the only tool to curb bad practices in this sector.

The financial flank, perhaps the weakest for these companies, can also be attacked, raising the demands on the banks – these, yes, with headquarters in the EU or the US – that water them with credit.

The proceedings opened by the justice system of various Western countries, which have applied severe sanctions against them for bribery and price manipulation, are equally welcome.

Although they will not be able to tax their huge profits to compensate the losers of the crisis, these investigations do promise to shed some light on a sector that has two of its main currencies in opacity and lack of regulation.

The other is the very high concentration: there are few hands that manage these companies and monopolize their income.

Closer surveillance by Brussels and, more generally, by the governments of Europe, the final destination of a no lesser volume of the raw materials extracted in the world, is lacking.

As in other cases, the central banks have taken the lead, laying down their magnifying glass to try to discover and reveal their secrets.

But political will is essential to go further.

Reality demands it.