International Analysis

Rare Earth Metals: China’s Trump Card in the Trade War?

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By TaiwanPlus

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Host: Betty Chen In response to the United States’ “reciprocal” tariffs, China began imposing export controls on rare earth metals in April. Despite a 90-day truce, restrictions on the export of these precious minerals are still in effect as of late May. Although not necessarily “rare” in earth’s crust, mining and processing these elements – which are critical to the production of a wide range of high-tech products – is a tedious and expensive process that requires advanced processing facilities that most countries lack. Is China “weaponizing” its monopoly over rare earths, as some have suggested? Will the U.S. mineral deal with Ukraine help to reduce its dependency on China? And how does Australia plan to make use of its own rare earth deposits? In this episode, we explore China’s rare earth monopoly, what the U.S. and Australia are doing to obtain more rare earths, and what these developments mean for Taiwan’s tech sector and national security. Our guests:  Huang Kwei-bo  National Chenchi University Department of Diplomacy Professor  Chiew-Ping Hoo  East Asian International Relations (EAIR) Caucus Co-Founder