Miners are seen at the Bayan Obo mine containing rare earth minerals, in Inner Mongolia, China July 16, 2011. Stringer, Reuters
Yun Li, CNBC: Here’s why China’s trade war threat to restrict rare earth minerals is so serious
* Rare earth minerals are commonly used in high-tech devices, automotives, clean energy and defense.
* About 35% of global reserves are in China, the most in the world, and the country is a mining machine, producing 70% of total rare earths in 2018.
* U.S. consumption of rare earth compounds and metals relies heavily on imports, which rose to $160 million in 2018. Eighty percent were from China.
China’s threat to curb exports of rare earth minerals to the United States could move the needle in an escalating trade war as the world’s two largest economies continue to jockey for leverage.
The official newspaper of the Communist Party of China explicitly warned the U.S. on Wednesday that China would cut off rare earth minerals as a countermeasure in the escalated trade battle.
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