China has stopped exporting several rare earth minerals that are crucial to making certain products in the tech, automobile, aerospace, and defense industries, according to several reports.
The New York Post reported that “effective April 3, China is no longer exporting seven heavy rare earth metals processed exclusively in the Asian power, as well as heavy rare earth magnets.”
Per the outlet, while China’s halt of rare earth minerals “applies to all countries,” access to certain things like “dysprosium and yttrium are critical” in the tech, automobile, and defense industries in the United States:
The export halt applies to all countries, but access to elements like dysprosium and yttrium are critical to US industry — especially in the tech, electric vehicle, aircraft and defense sectors, according to Drew Horn, who served as the top US official on strategic minerals and energy supply chain development in President Trump’s first administration.
Horn explained to the outlet that China has “been threatening” to do this because they have the “leverage” to cut the U.S. and the rest of the world off.
“The Chinese have been threatening this because they do have that leverage to basically cut us off and cut the world off, which essentially cuts us off through all sorts of different means, and now they’re doing it,” Horn said.
In 2019, China previously threatened to cut off rare earth mineral exports to the U.S., according to Forbes.
Craig Singleton, a senior China fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies explained to the New York Post that China’s “rare earth play is a card they’ve used before,” and added that it was “overplayed.”
The New York Times reported that on April 4, China “ordered restrictions on the export of six heavy rare earth metals, which are refined entirely in China, as well as rare earth magnets, 90 percent of which are produced in China.”
Per the outlet, while “metals, and special magnets made with them” can be “shipped out of China only with special export licenses,” the country “has barely started setting up a system for issuing the licenses”:
The metals, and special magnets made with them can now be shipped out of China only with special export licenses.
But China has barely started setting up a system for issuing the licenses. That has caused consternation among industry executives that the process could drag on and that current supplies of mineral and products outside of China could run low.
Breitbart News’s John Hayward reported that China had revealed it would “maintain its supply of rare earths to the rest of the world while limiting U.S. access.”
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