Summary

China has now imposed export controls on a range of critical rare earth minerals and magnets, dealing a major blow to the US.

“Rare earths” are a group of 17 chemically similar elements that are crucial to the manufacture of many high-tech products. Everything you can switch on or off likely runs on rare earths.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that China accounts for about 61% of rare earth production and 92% of their processing.

A US Geological report notes that between 2020 and 2023, the US relied on China for 70% of its imports of all rare earth compounds and metals.