Can China hold the world to ransom over rare earths?
- China restricted exports of rare earth products and magnets containing them to the United States.
- China retaliated after US President Donald Trump imposed 145% tariffs on Chinese goods.
- These restrictions applied to natural metals critical for defense, renewable energy, and robotics.
- China produces 90% of world permanent magnets and refines nearly all heavy rare earths.
- This highlights global reliance on China for critical minerals impacting various high-tech industries.
19 Articles
19 Articles
Can China hold the world to ransom over rare earths?
Rare earths are critical for the production of smartphones, satellites, robots and even fighter jets. China processes nearly all of them, causing much handwringing in Washington and Brussels over fears that China has the power to hold the world to ransom. But will it use it?

How China is controlling the world’s rare earths trade
China is threatening to land a knockout blow in its trade war with Donald Trump, targeting a vulnerability in the United States’ most crucial military infrastructure with a strike that was decades in the making.
The story of rare earth elements (REEs): Occurrences, global distribution, genesis, geology, mineralogy and global production
Rare earth elements (REEs) including fifteen lanthanides, yttrium and scandium are found in more than 250 minerals, worldwide. REEs are used in variou…
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