CCP’s ‘Weaponized Negotiation’ Could Backfire, Expert Says
An industrial plant pollutes the air and produces hazardous waste in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China, in this 2016 image. China, which controls more than 90 percent of global rare earth processing, tightened export controls on key rare earth elements in April, escalating its tariff standoff with Washington. ebenart/Shutterstock
An industrial plant pollutes the air and produces hazardous waste in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China, in this 2016 image. China, which controls more than 90 percent of global rare earth processing, tightened export controls on key rare earth elements in April, escalating its tariff standoff with Washington. ebenart/Shutterstock
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CCP’s ‘Weaponized Negotiation’ Could Backfire, Expert Says

The CCP seeks trade leverage with tighter rare earth export rules, but risks accelerating Western supply chains that could erode Beijing’s long-held monopoly.
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By Sean Tseng
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Beijing recently tightened export controls on some critical rare earth elements, ratcheting up its tariff standoff with Washington. By monopolizing more than 90 percent of global rare earth processing, China has long held these 17 elements as a strategic chokepoint.

Analysts say Beijing’s new export licensing rules—ostensibly applying to all countries, but aimed at the United States—are likely a tactic to pressure Washington into trade concessions.

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