May 31, 2019

Anna Murray 

Chinese state media, the Xinhua News Agency, stated a commentary on May 29 that China is ready to capitalize on its dominance as an exporter of rare earths by cutting its exports to the US. 
As trade tensions between China and the US heat up, the Communist newspaper People's Daily also published a commentary saying "Waging a trade war against China, the United States risks losing the supply of materials that are vital to sustaining its technological strength," The Editor in Chief Hu Xijin of China's Global Times newspaper was blunter and wrote in a tweet on May 28 that China is "seriously considering restricting rare exports to the U.S." They all suggested China may play a new card restricting U.S. access to rare earths, the 17 chemical elements that are widely used in everything from mobile phone cameras to other consumer electronics like automobile catalytic converters, wind turbines, MRI machines, and military hardware.

Rare earths were not named because of their scarcity, but rather labeled in the 18th and 19th centuries because of their relative imperviousness to heat compared to other minerals. According to the U.S. Geological Survey and Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts, China dominates global rare earths exports for almost 80 percent of US's imports in 2018. Other countries include Australia, Estonia, France, and Japan, which supply rare earths to the US.
It would not be the first time China used its dominance in rare earths as part of a trade conflict. China blocked some rare earths exports to Japan after a maritime dispute in 2010. Japan protested with the WTO, which ruled in 2014 that the restrictions on rare earths exports were illegal. It also led some companies to cut their use of rare earths and to seek alternatives like the element dysprosium, used in electric car magnets, as the Bank of America analysts stated.

Photo:Webshot.