RT.com
14 Jan 2022, 23:42 GMT+10
Washington is seeking to thwart China's near control over the sector
A bipartisan piece of legislation to be introduced in the US Senate on Friday would force defense contractors to stop buying rare earth minerals from China by 2026, Reuters reports.
The bill will also require the use of the Pentagon to create a permanent stockpile of the strategic minerals. It essentially uses the Pentagon's purchase of billions of dollars-worth of fighter jets, missiles and other weapons as leverage to require contractors to stop using Chinese rare earths and thus support revival of domestic output. Waivers are allowed only in rare situations.
Rare-earth metals - a group of 17 elements that are critical for a wide range of industries from consumer electronics to military hardware - have long been at the center of the US-China trade war. The US used to be the world's number-one producer of those minerals, but is now heavily dependent on Chinese exports.
The United States currently has only one rare-earths mine and has no capability to process the minerals. Meanwhile, China accounts for around 80% of global rare-earth production and holds the largest reserves.
"Ending American dependence on China for rare earths extraction and processing is critical to building up the US defense and technology sectors," Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, told Reuters.
He has described China's evolution into global rare-earths leader as "simply a policy choice that the United States made," adding that he hoped fresh policies would loosen Beijing's grip.
To build its reserves the Pentagon buys supply in part from China, but the new requirements "should encourage more domestic (rare earths) development in our country," Cotton explained.
In the past two years, the Pentagon has given grants to companies trying to resume US rare-earth processing and magnet production.
For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Asia Bulletin news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Asia Bulletin.
More InformationWASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration has made public a visa decision that would usually be kept private. It did this to send...
MADRID, Spain: Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his younger brother, André Silva, have died in a car accident in Spain. Spanish...
LONDON, U.K.: An unrelenting heatwave sweeping across Europe has pushed early summer temperatures to historic highs, triggering deadly...
President Donald Trump's plans to build a space-based Golden Dome missile defense shield have drawn immediate criticism from China,...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Paramount has agreed to pay US$16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by U.S. President Donald Trump over...
LONDON, U.K.: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer won a vote in Parliament this week to move ahead with changes to the country's welfare...
PALO ALTO/TEL AVIV: The battle for top AI talent has claimed another high-profile casualty—this time at Safe Superintelligence (SSI),...
FRANKLIN, Tennessee: Hundreds of thousands of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles are being recalled across the United States due to a potential...
REDMOND, Washington: Microsoft is the latest tech giant to announce significant job cuts, as the financial strain of building next-generation...
LONDON UK - U.S. stock markets were closed on Friday for Independence Day. Global Forex Markets Wrap Up Friday with Greeback Comeback...
SANTA CLARA, California: Nvidia came within a whisker of making financial history on July 3, briefly surpassing Apple's all-time market...
SACRAMENTO, California: California's multibillion-dollar farms are facing a growing crisis—not from drought or pests, but from a sudden...