Tag Archives: export controls rare earths

Free Trade is Dead: Protect, Protect, Protect…

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There were three times the number of discriminatory trade policies—including tariffs, export controls and sanctions—introduced from 2020 through 2025 than in the preceding five years. The world’s shift to protectionism likely stems “from a succession of shocks,” starting with the pandemic-related disruptions of 2020, followed by China’s power-market shortage in 2021* and then the food and energy market crises in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine.

As a result, countries have become much more focused on resource security. India, for example, stocked up on rice inventories after the 2022-23 global food crisis. China, which typically consumes about 14 million tons of copper a year, has been buying 1 million to 2 million tons more than its economy needs…The country has also been building up its oil reserves. Earlier this month, the U.S. unveiled a $12 billion critical-minerals stockpile.

Excerpt from Jinjoo Lee, Global Markets No More: Trade Barriers Mess With Commodities From Metals to Oil, WSJ, Feb. 21, 2026

  • In late 2021, China experienced a severe electricity supply crisis that affected 20 provinces. Industrial activity was curtailed, and even households suffered prolonged outages in some areas.

Who is Afraid of China? the United States Army

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China plans to ease the flow of rare earths and other restricted materials to the U.S. by designing a system that will exclude companies with ties to the U.S. military while fast-tracking export approvals for other firms…The “validated end-user” system, or VEU, would enable Chinese leader Xi Jinping to follow through on a pledge to President Trump to facilitate the export of such materials while ensuring that they don’t end up with U.S. military suppliers, a core concern for China…  The VEU mechanism that Beijing is considering is modeled on U.S. laws and procedures, as is much of Beijing’s export-control architecture.

Under the American version of the VEU system, which has been active since 2007, certain Chinese companies are cleared to buy sensitive goods under a general authorization—essentially a simplified export-approval mechanism—instead of needing individual licenses for each purchase. This makes it easier to import controlled goods such as chemicals or chip-making equipment, but requires companies to put up with U.S. government inspections of their facilities, among other steps, to verify compliance with the program…

Companies in the U.S. and Europe have complained of reduced access to rare-earth magnets from China. Though China has periodically agreed to relax magnet restrictions, Chinese rare-earth magnet exports to the U.S. declined 29% in September 2025 from the month before

Excerpt from Jon Emont et al, China Hatches Plan to Keep U.S. Military From Getting Its Rare-Earth Magnets, WSJ, Nov. 10, 20215