Gracelin Baskaran of CSIS writes about China’s ban on rare earth processing technologies.
- In December China announced a ban of rare earth extraction and separation technologies.
- China currently controls 60% of the world’s rare earths and 90% of global processing, and processes 99.9% of America’s rare earth metals.
- These materials are critical to national and energy security and are used in the manufacturing of fighter jets, solar panels, and cell phones.
- Countering China’s ban will require reducing regulatory red tape to bolster domestic mining and processing and working with allies and new partners via free trade agreements.
“The rollout of major export restrictions for graphite, gallium, germanium, rare earth extraction, and separation technologies in less than one year should be a powerful signal to U.S. policymakers that although they are late to the critical minerals game, there is a significant need to both build domestic capabilities and leverage international cooperation to facilitate rapid sourcing and developing of processing capacity.”
Read the full article here.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
