What Did China Do?
China responded to the tariffs by not just imposing 34% on US imports but also restricting export licensing on key minerals which are essential for electronics, defence and clean energy technologies, according to Clean Technica.
Export controls are implemented on rare Earth elements like dysprosium, terbium, tungsten, indium and yttrium, as per the report.
Why Did China Pick These Specific Minerals?
While China spent decades building its dominance over these supply chains, the United States was focused on outsourcing, divesting, and ignoring reports that claimed, “Maybe 90% dependence on a single country we keep starting trade wars with and rattling sabers at is a bad idea,” quoted author Michael Barnard in his Clean Technica article.
According to Barnard, the elements China restricted are not random, they have been chosen as they can affect US products and defence procurement orders. For instance, dysprosium is used in electric vehicles for thermal stability, as per the report. Barnard mentioned in his report that China controls the entire supply of dysprosium, adding that “If dysprosium doesn’t come out of China, it doesn’t come out at all. It’s the spinal cord of electrification, and right now China’s holding the vertebrae,” reported Clean Technica.
Then tungsten is an important metal that makes bullets bulletproof, with China handling 80% of global production, according to the report. Tungsten is not only used in ammunition, it is also used as tiny vertical connections between layers of circuitry in semiconductor chips, CNC machine tools, and high-performance alloys that are used for everything from jet engines to deep-drilling rigs, as per Clean Technica. Barnard claimed, “When China put tungsten behind a licensing wall, it wasn’t targeting one sector—it was targeting the industrial base of a specific big country that’s trying to re-grow precision manufacturing at scale.”Another critical mineral found only in China is Terbium, as per the report. It is used to make high-efficiency motors in EVs, offshore wind turbines, night-vision goggles, sonar systems, and magnetostrictive actuators, according to Clean Technica. Then there is indium, a transparent conductor that makes screens light up, fibre optics communicate, and laser diodes, as per the report. Touchscreens would become paperweights without indium, and 5G base stations start to look like 3G nostalgia boxes, reported Clean Technica. Barnard pointed out that there is no production in the US, and while Canada, South Korea, and Japan produce some, the global market is dominated by China.
Barnard also highlighted that the element yttrium, “makes YAG lasers possible, and it’s also what allows thermal barrier coatings on turbine blades to keep your aircraft engines from melting mid-flight.”
What’s at Stake for the US?
China’s action has profound consequences beyond simply a few stylish gadgets as it will impact US defence manufacturing, according to the report. Guided missiles, for example, use terbium as the basis of their precision actuators, and advanced infrared imaging as the basis of their operation relying upon tellurium.
Even to make advanced chips, tungsten is needed to interconnect and indium for high-speed optoelectronic interfaces, as per the report. Barnard said, “No one’s building 5G infrastructure without compound semiconductors, and no one’s building those chips without the post-transition metals China just turned into strategic bargaining chips,” as per the report.
According to Barnard, prices for these materials have already increased, and “downstream costs are beginning to appear in everything from automotive supply chains to defence budgets,” reported Clean Technica. He also added, “Expect cost overruns and delayed product launches,” as per the report.
FAQs
How will these mineral restrictions affect the US?
The US may face higher prices and product delays as critical minerals become harder to get, as per the report.
Is China the only source for these minerals?
China controls most of the global supply of these minerals, leaving the US and other nations with limited alternatives.
