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The Guardian view on rare earths: it’s commonsense to secure essential supply chains | Editorial

Outsourcing the industry to China cannot continue, but Europe knows it can no longer count on the US for a solution

This story summarizes reporting from The Guardian. Read the original for full context. Wire items stay in our news sitemap for seven days. Editorial policy.

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Editorial30 Aug 2026, 04:30 pmUpdated 16h ago2 min readAmericasUnited States

United States — Editorial

The Guardian view on rare earths: it’s common sense to secure essential supply chains | Editorial

Outsourcing the industry to China cannot continue, but Europe knows it can no longer count on the US for a solution

The alarm sounded 16 years ago. In 2010, China blocked exports of key rare earths to Japan in a row over disputed islands in the East China Sea. The critical minerals are essential to everything from advanced weaponry and iPhones to electric vehicle batteries and wind turbines, so the rest of the world took note. But it didn’t take much action. China still accounts for about 70% of rare-earth mining globally and 90% of separation and processing.

Then, last year, Beijing forced Donald Trump to back away from his trade war – not with its retaliatory tariffs, but the curbing of rare-earth exports. A scramble for new supplies began in earnest. The year-long trade truce is due to expire in November. The price of erbium, an element essential to communications infrastructure, has already jumped because of fears that export controls will soon be renewed.

The alarm sounded 16 years ago. In 2010, China blocked exports of key rare earths to Japan in a row over disputed islands in the East China Sea. The critical minerals are essential to everything from advanced weaponry and iPhones to electric vehicle batteries and wind turbines, so the rest of the world took note. But it didn’t take much action. China still accounts for about 70% of rare-earth mining globally and 90% of separation and processing.

This report is published with credit to The Guardian. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on The Guardian →

Source: The Guardian · Editorial. Published 30 Aug 2026, 04:30 pm.

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