Why China Holding Export Rare Earth – This is a huge blow on the US

As the trade war between China and the United States increases, the attention was focused on the increasing tit tariffs to both countries impose each other.

But mutual tariffs in Washington is not the only way that Beijing was able to avenge.

Now China has also imposed export control on a number of important minerals and magnets rare land, striking a big blow to the United States.

This step was exposed to how much Reliant America is on these minerals.

This week, Trump has ordered the Department of Trade to come up with ways to increase the production of critical minerals and reduce import dependence – Washington’s attempt to return this critical industry. But why are the rare land so important and how can they shake the trade war?

“Rare Earth” is a group of 17 chemically similar elements that are crucial for the production of many high-tech products.

Most of them are rich, but they are known as “rare” because it is very unusual to find them in pure form, and they are very dangerous for mining.

Although you may not be familiar with the names of these rare lands – for example, neodymium, itri and Europe – you will be very familiar with the products they are used.

For example, Neodyim is used to make powerful magnets used in loudspeakers, computer hard drives, EV engines and reactive engines that allow them to be smaller and more effective.

Yttrium and Europium are used to produce television and computer screens from the way they display colors.

“Everything you can turn on or off is likely to work on rare land,” explains Thomas Krummer, Director of International Trade and Investment Ginger.

Rare land is also crucial for the production of medical technologies such as laser surgery and MRI, as well as key defense technologies.

China has almost a monopoly to extract rare land, as well as for their clarification – this is the process of separating them from other minerals.

According to the International Energy Agency (IE), about 61% of rare land production and 92% of their processing are in China.

This means that it is currently dominated by rare earthen chains and has the ability to determine which companies may and cannot receive rare land supplies.

Both mining and processing of these rare lands are expensive and polluting.

All rare resources also contain radioactive elements, and therefore many other countries, including the EU, are reluctant to produce them.

“Radioactive waste from production absolutely requires a safe, compatible, permanent disposal. Currently, all premises for disposal in the EU are temporary,” says Mr. Krummer.

But the dominance in China on a rare land supply network has not happened in one night, but rather the result of decades of government strategic policy and investment.

In 1992, the deceased Chinese leader Dan Seping, who overseen China’s economic reform, said, “In the Middle East there is oil in China, and rare land is rare in China.”

“Since the end of the 20th century, China is a nodded gift for the development of its rare mining opportunities, often at lower environmental standards and labor costs compared to other countries,” said Gavin Harper, a scientist at the University of Birmingham.

“This allowed them to reduce the world competitors and build almost a monopoly across the value chain, from mining and clarification to the manufacture of finished products as magnets.”

In response to the tariffs imposed by Washington, China has begun to order restrictions on rare minerals at the beginning of this month – most of which are known as “heavy” rare land that are crucial for the defense sector.

They are less common and harder to process than “light” rare land, which also makes them more valuable.

From April 4, all companies must now receive special export licenses to send rare land and magnets from the country.

This is because it is possible to control the dual -use products as a signatories of the International Nuclear Weapons Treaty in China.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), it leaves the United States particularly vulnerable because there is no opportunity to cultivate heavy rare land outside China.

The US Geological Report noted that from 2020 to 2023 the United States relied on China on 70% of its imports of all rare land and metals.

This means that new restrictions have the opportunity to beat the United States strongly.

Many military industries use heavy rare land such as rockets, radars and permanent magnets.

The CSIS report notes that defense technology, including Jets F-35, Tomahawk missiles and drones, depend on these minerals.

This adds that it happens when China “expands the production of ammunition and acquires advanced weapons and equipment at five times faster than in the US.”

“The impact on the US protection will be significant,” said Mr. Cromer.

And this is not just in the field of defense.

The United States Production, which Trump said he hoped to revive through the introduction of its tariffs that will suffer greatly.

“Manufacturers, especially in defense and high-tech, face a potential deficiency and delayed production due to stopping supplies and limited stocks,” said Dr. Harper.

“It is expected that the prices for critical rare land will increase, increasing the direct costs of components used in a wide range of products, from smartphones to military equipment,” he says, adding that it can lead to potential production slows to affected US companies.

If such a deficit in China persists in the long run, the United States can potentially start diversifying its supply chains and scale its internal and processing opportunities, although it will still require “significant and sustainable investments, technological achievements and potentially higher costs compared to China.”

And it is clear that this is already in mind Trump. This week he ordered an investigation into the risks of national security, which represent the US dependence on such critical minerals.

“President Trump acknowledges that the excess of foreign important minerals and their derivative products may endanger the US protection, infrastructure development and technological innovation,” the manner reads.

“Critical minerals, including rare land, are important for national security and economic sustainability.”

The US has one rare land, but it does not have the ability to separate heavy rare land and should send its ore to China for processing.

Previously, there were US companies that produced rare earthly magnets – until the 1980s, the United States was actually the largest manufacturer of rare land.

But these companies have left the market when China began to dominate scale and cost.

This is largely considered to be part of why US President Donald Trump is so eager to sign minerals with Ukraine – she wants to reduce dependence on China.

Another place that Trump was watching – Greenland – which is endowed with the eighth largest inventory of elements of rare land.

Trump repeatedly showed interest in controlling the autonomous Danish territory and refused to exclude economic or military force to take control.

These may have places from which the United States could get some of its rare exports, but the competition tone that Trump struck with them means that the United States could remain very few alternative suppliers.

“The task that the US faces is twice, on the one hand, it alienated China, which provides a monopoly stock of rare lands, and on the other hand, it is also opposed by many peoples who were previously friendly staff through tariffs and other hostile actions,” said Dr. Harper.

“Whether they will still prioritize in cooperation with America, they still have to see in the violent political setting of this new administration.”