Dr Swasti Rao joined ThePrint as Consulting Editor (International and Strategic Affairs) in 2024. She is a geopolitical expert, commentator, and author. You can reach her at swasti.rao@theprint.in.
The US sanctions against China are having little bite at this point. They’ve managed to circumvent them and are creating their own manufacturing processes.
And by the way the United States is distantly the world’s second-largest rare earths producer, with an output of about one-fifth the volume of China. There is no way the US can substitute the supply of rare earths they’ve been importing from China anytime soon. It would take at least 10 years to set up a functional domestic supply chain.
The US sanctions against China are having little bite at this point. They’ve managed to circumvent them and are creating their own manufacturing processes.
And by the way the United States is distantly the world’s second-largest rare earths producer, with an output of about one-fifth the volume of China. There is no way the US can substitute the supply of rare earths they’ve been importing from China anytime soon. It would take at least 10 years to set up a functional domestic supply chain.