What are rare earth minerals, and why are they central to Trump’s trade war?
CNN
The US trade war with China has a major sticking point: rare earths minerals.
The US trade war with China has a major sticking point: rare earths minerals. Last month, President Donald Trump said the United States needed Greenland “very badly,” renewing his threat to annex the Danish territory. Greenland is a resource-rich island with a plentiful supply of critical minerals, a category that also includes rare earths elements, under its ice sheet. Trump also signed a “rare earth deal” with Ukraine. The tussle over rare earths precedes the current administration. China for years has built up near-total control of the materials as part of its wider industrial policy. Here’s what you need to know about rare earths. Rare earths are 17 metallic elements in the periodic table made up of scandium, yttrium and the lanthanides. The name “rare earths” is a bit of a misnomer, as the materials are found throughout the Earth’s crust. They are more abundant than gold, but they are difficult and costly to extract and process, and also environmentally damaging.
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