5d ago

China has stopped exporting rare earths to everyone, not just the U.S., cutting off critical materials for tech, autos, aerospace, and defense

fortune.com China has stopped exporting rare earths to everyone, not just the U.S., cutting off critical materials for tech, autos, aerospace, and defense

Exports of rare earths now require special licenses, but Beijing has yet to fully establish a system for issuing them, the New York Times reported.

World News @lemmy.world

fortune.com /2025/04/14/china-rare-earth-exports-halt-trump-trade-war-tariff-retaliation/

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Global News @lemmy.zip

China has stopped exporting rare earths to everyone, not just the U.S., cutting off critical materials for tech, autos, aerospace, and defense

fortune.com /2025/04/14/china-rare-earth-exports-halt-trump-trade-war-tariff-retaliation/

120 24

46 comments

Looks like Australia will profit. We have a lot of lithium, and some of the others, china's been undercutting the price for a while.

To the hoardening!
- I guess so, but to what end?
  Are they expecting a global inflation given tariffs?

The usa pissed off China so much they basically said "fuck all yall" 😭
- That‘s their default, though. It’s not the first time they‘re acting up as an unreliable business partner. I mean they bought all those rare earth mines across the globe for a reason and it‘s not to just stick it to the USA. They‘re both bullies.
  
  yup. it's natural to see your foe's foe as an ally. always be wary.
  
  that isn't even a comparison. the fact china stopped sale of minerals doesn't put it in equal footing with the terror the us does.
  
  They're both bullies.
  
  Trump started it.
- They got what everyone wants, and they want to make sure everyone remembers that. No doubt prices will raise due to interrupted supply. China will probably benefit when they resume trade with selected countries
  
  No matter how you spin it, China comes out on top. They get to sit back while their main adversaries simply throw away every advantage they've built up over the last five decades or so. The only winning move is not to play...

China is encouraging other countries to find new sources which exist on every continent.
- They are not nearly as rare as the name implies.
  
  Check my understanding here: It's not that they're scarce, but there's no geological process that concentrates them like copper or gold. There aren't any neodymium seams the way there are gold seams, there's a very little amount everywhere. So you might as well sift the entire Mojave.
  
  Finding the labor to mine and process it cheaply enough to maintain profit margins, while simultaneously deporting everyone, is what makes things rare.
  
  The rarity is the ability to do it without caring about the massive environmental damage often caused while procuring the minerals.

Most retailers have announced price hikes across the globe. I had hoped EU would actually get cheaper electronics and whatnot because of dumping. Oh well. Guess this 7 year old pc is going to have to sing it out for a few years longer at this rate.
- I'm just glad that as I get older I'm more content with simple things. I'd be ok giving up most tech things and I say that while working in IT myself.
  
  no one hates new tech like IT guys
  
  Amen. I also work in IT and I find the longer I do, the more I loathe new tech stacks and developments. I used to be passionate about new tech and its applications. Now I just want to be left alone where possible.
  
  I'm just trying to see my kid through college and then I'm ready for something simpler. Goatops.com (well a copy/paste from before the site existed) made me chuckle and planted the seed, now I'm in the actual consideration stage of it.
- I'm running the same desktop for nearky 14 years and I have two laptops that are over 8. Still daily use.

Western industries like to cry foul. But if they did not do anything since these bans started about 20 years ago it means that they are happy with it.

Makes sense.
Geopoliticts shifts, good idea to just stop, wait and see who's ready to be on friendly terms.
Particularly in Europe, the result is like a few election cycles out. Could go in like 5 different directions and is impossible to predict.

Is it just that China doesn’t want them to go to another country and resold to the U.S. in another deal?

As opposed to what the headline could make you think, it’s not a complete ban on all REE exports. A total ban wouldn’t make much sense.
The REE business is big, and China can’t keep stockpiling these metals for long. Also, REE production is integrated to the rest of the industry, so you can’t just switch those factories off and expect everything else to keep on chugging along as usual.
- China can afford to sit on these minerals for years or even decades. EU, US and Russia don't have that luxury.
  
  Forcing others to find new suppliers is how you find out they built their own supply chains that exclude you. Business 201
  
  Well what if you need to keep on producing more common metals in the meantime, and REEs are a byproduct. You would need to keep the REE factories running too.
  If you end up with 100 tons of terbium and yttrium oxide sitting in bags out in the rain, it’s going to lead to some serious quality issues further down the line. Well, just shove them in a warehouse then?
  You’ll need a big warehouse, and you need to keep building more of them every year as the stockpiles grow. Needless to say, there are some serious logistical problems with a total export ban. A partial restriction is more viable, because it gives China some time to figure out how to adapt.
  In any case, the rest of the world needs these metals, and they are willing to bend to knee long before China runs out of mitigation strategies. It’s going to be a problem in China as well, but at least they’re not totally screwed.
  
  If China never wants to export REE again because other countries have built their own refineries sure, they can.

46 comments