Rare earths are elements that are found in the Earth's crust, and
are vital ingredients for the production of a wide variety of high
tech, defense, and green technologies - everything from iPhones and
medical technologies, to wind turbines, efficiency lighting, smart
bombs, and submarines. While they are not particularly "rare" in
availability, they are difficult and expensive to mine. Yet, China
has managed to gain control over an estimated 97 percent of the
rare earth industry since the 1990s through cheap production, high
export taxes, and artificial limitations of supply. Rare earths,
and China's monopoly over them, became international news after
China "unofficially" halted exports to Japan, the United States,
and Europe in 2010. This embargo followed a collision between
Chinese and Japanese boats in the East China Sea, a locus of
geopolitical and economic tension between the two countries.
Although the World Trade Organization forced China to scrap its
restrictions, it still holds a stranglehold over these elements
that are so critical to the economic and security interests of the
United States and its allies. Sophia Kalantzakos argues that the
2010 rare earth crisis signaled more than just a trade dispute.
Rather, it raises questions about China's use of economic
statecraft, and must be regarded as a part of the larger discourse
of global power relations. Importantly, this book also argues that
the failure of political actors in the United States and Europe to
pass policy to address future supply, or the scientific and
business communities to devise sustainable rare earth production
outside of China, points to future resource competition. Focusing
on China's monopoly over the rare earth industry, this book
examines the impacts of growing worldwide resource competition and
the complexities policymakers face as they develop strategies and
responses in an increasingly globalized world.
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