At the end of the day I see this as the current US Administration's option to get around the fact that China has the virtual monopoly regarding the supply of Rare Earth Minerals, bearing in mind that, as current estimates show, the Top 8 countries and their Reserves, in "Million Metric Tons", are ----> investingnews.com
China = 44
Brazil = 21
India = 6.9
Australia = 5.7
Russia = 3.8
Vietnam = 3.5
USA = 1.9
Greenland = 1.5
So China's total equals the combined total of the other 7 countries.
It must also be borne in mind that China, Brazil, India and Russia are members of the BRICS+ group, so their combined Reserves are 75.7 Million Metric Tons, equivalent to around 85% of the world's total.
The USA's current administration tried their hand recently to impose massive Tariffs on China.
China replied by imposing a massive reduction in the supply of Rare Earths to the USA, which form a vital component to the USA's military needs.
It didn't take long before the "Tariffs" were drastically reduced and "things got, more or less, back to normal". |
