US on Alert Over Possible China Rare Earth Export Suspension

China Produces 81% of Global Rare Earths
US Also Mostly Dependent on China
Potential Impact on Manufacturing Advanced Electronics and Weapons

rare earth elements

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Concerns are growing in the United States about the possibility of China using rare earth elements as a retaliatory card amid the escalating US-China conflict.

China, which accounts for 81% of global rare earth production, could deal a blow to advanced American industries if it halts exports to the US. The United States depends on China for most of its required rare earth elements.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 29th (local time), the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on the mineral supply chain and national security on the 24th.

At the hearing, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin compared rare earth elements to 'oil' in the 1970s, when Arab exporting countries blocked exports to Western countries.

Lisa Murkowski, Chairwoman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, asked panel members what would happen if China decided to block rare earth exports to the United States. Simon Moores, founder of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, responded, "If China blocks some of the critical minerals we are discussing today for a long period, it would be a disaster for the US economy," emphasizing that "China's threat is becoming increasingly clear."

The consulting firm Horizon Advisory recently pointed out in a report that China views rare earth elements as leverage to use against the West, including in trade disputes with the US, stating, "China's (monopolistic) position on rare earth elements threatens the entire global system."

China's weaponization of rare earth elements has precedent. In 2010, during the Senkaku Islands dispute with Japan, China halted rare earth exports to Japan.

The WSJ reported that the US Department of Defense has begun preparations against China's rare earth retaliation. The WSJ stated that the Department of Defense announced subsidies earlier this year for the development of processing facilities at the Mountain Pass mine in California, the only rare earth mine in the United States.