Rare Earths, Real Power: China’s Leverage, Brazil’s Opening, Vietnam’s Promise

View: Source Rare earths are the quiet hardware of modern life—inside EV motors, wind turbines, smartphones, medical devices, and defense systems. The story behind the story is that the real power isn’t in the mines. It’s in the chemistry labs and factories that separate elements and make high-performance magnets. That is where supply chains concentrate, and where politics can pinch. China …

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EU believes it’s been left out of China easing of historic rare earth curbs

View: Source Washington claims Beijing’s 2022 trade easing is global, but Brussels questions whether it truly applies to the European Union. The European Union does not believe its industries are covered by a “de facto removal” of China’s historical restrictions on the export of rare earths and other critical minerals announced by the White House on Saturday. In a fact sheet detailing the …

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How rare earths became the next trade war weapon

View: Source News that China and the US have sealed a trade deal that would postpone Chinese restrictions on rare earth exports for a year provides short-term relief for global supply chains. It also highlights a deeper strategic challenge. The US remains heavily dependent on China for rare earths, which are essential to defense, clean energy, and high-tech manufacturing. While the …

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Trump Taps Southeast Asia For Rare Earths Amid China Uncertainty

View: Source The US is racing to establish a rare earth supply chain separate from China following Beijing’s increasingly aggressive moves to restrict its exports of rare earths to the country. US President Donald Trump signed multiple deals this weekend for access to critical minerals and rare earths from Southeast Asia amid increasing uncertainty around supplies from China. On Sunday, Trump …

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EU to discuss rare earth minerals with Chinese delegation in Brussels

View: Source The European Commission is hosting a high-level Chinese delegation in Brussels this week to discuss China’s export restrictions on rare earth materials. According to a Commission spokesperson, initial talks via video conference took place on Monday to lay the groundwork ahead of the in-person discussions. “A high-level Chinese technical delegation will arrive in Brussels on Thursday to discuss these …

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Xi May Have Miscalculated on Rare Earths

View: Source China’s complex new rules take on the entire world at once—and give Trump an opportunity. The current trade confrontation between the United States and China may look like a repeat of the episode from earlier this year: Washington has rolled out sky-high tariffs, while China has clamped down on the supply of rare earths. Many observers, reportedly including Chinese President Xi …

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Korea must join global rare earth alliance before it’s too late

View: Source Securing supply chains a matter of survival, not choice The global race for resource security is accelerating. As strategic minerals become the lifeblood of advanced industries — from semiconductors and electric vehicles to batteries and defense technologies — nations are scrambling to secure stable, diversified supply chains. In this new era of resource weaponization, where raw materials are used …

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Brazilian rare earth investments to rise 49% by 2029

View: Source The Brazilian mineral sector plans to invest $68.4 billion in projects from 2025 to 2029. While the largest absolute investment is expected in iron ore ($19.597 billion), the highest percentage growth is projected for rare earths, with a 49 percent increase compared to 2024–2028, according to information released Tuesday (Oct. 21) by the Brazilian Mining Institute (IBRAM). “What drives …

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Tariffs and rare earths: New chapters in negotiations between Brazil and the US

View: Source Representatives from the governments of Brazil and the US held their first official meeting to discuss tariffs, but the outcome of the negotiations remains uncertain. This week, delegations from both countries met to discuss the 50% tariffs imposed by the US on Brazilian products, in effect since the beginning of August. “Today October 16, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and United …

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Europe In The Rare Earth Trap: Up To 4 Million German Jobs At Risk As Beijing Tightens

View: Source Rare earth elements have become geopolitical dynamite. According to a new analysis by consultancy McKinsey & Company, up to four million jobs in Germany are on the line if top supplier China imposes a permanent export ban. These critical minerals are indispensable to Germany’s high-tech economy: they’re used in precision sensors, specialized magnets, and control systems essential to engineering, …

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