China has stopped exporting several rare earth minerals that are crucial to making certain products in the tech, automobile, aerospace, and defense industries, according to several reports.
The New York Post reported that “effective April 3, China is no longer exporting seven heavy rare earth metals processed exclusively in the Asian power, as well as heavy rare earth magnets.”
Per the outlet, while China’s halt of rare earth minerals “applies to all countries,” access to certain things like “dysprosium and yttrium are critical” in the tech, automobile, and defense industries in the United States:
The export halt applies to all countries, but access to elements like dysprosium and yttrium are critical to US industry — especially in the tech, electric vehicle, aircraft and defense sectors, according to Drew Horn, who served as the top US official on strategic minerals and energy supply chain development in President Trump’s first administration.
Horn explained to the outlet that China has “been threatening” to do this because they have the “leverage” to cut the U.S. and the rest of the world off.
“The Chinese have been threatening this because they do have that leverage to basically cut us off and cut the world off, which essentially cuts us off through all sorts of different means, and now they’re doing it,” Horn said.
In 2019, China previously threatened to cut off rare earth mineral exports to the U.S., according to Forbes.
