Why China’s control of rare earths is a lethal weapon in the US trade war

Updated Jul 1, 2025 – 2.39pm, first published at 2.14pm

In the subterranean battlefields of global trade, one of the most potent weapons isn’t silicon or steel, but a group of 17 obscure minerals with names like neodymium, dysprosium and terbium.

Known collectively as rare earth elements, they are essential to the manufacture of everything from smartphones and electric vehicle motors to fighter jets and wind turbines.

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