This is a serious escalation. Rare Earth metals are vital to a LOT of US industries.
Yes, we have them in the US, and a LOT in Afghanistan. But, it will take time to develop them.
The Chinese are moving this to a whole new level of “war”. They will NOT like Trumps response.
China has dominated rare earth mining since the 1990s, accounts for over 95% of the world’s production of rare earths. Therefore, having control of these elements puts China at a powerful position.
We know that Rare earths are ‘critical’ to dozens of high-tech industries, from solar panels and electric vehicles to guided missiles and jet engines...smartphones, large motors in wind turbines etc. etc.....We’re talking about tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars worth of industries that are potentially affected by rare earths.”
When China cut back sharply on REE exports in 2010, it triggered a global price spike, that exposed the superpower’s monopolistic grip on materials that are critical to dozens of high-tech industries.
America imported around 12,600 metric tons of rare earth compounds and metals in 2016, and nearly all of it originated in China. Although the US buys certain compounds and components from countries like Japan and France, the raw minerals for most of those imports come from China.
Afghanistan may hold 60 million tons of copper, 2.2 billion tons of iron ore, 1.4 million tons of rare earth elements such as lanthanum, cerium and neodymium, and lodes of aluminum, gold, silver, zinc, mercury and lithium.
Estimated at over 1 trillion dollars worth.
Russia, or China would be there in a second if we pulled out.