The US Shouldn’t Need Another Warning on Rare Earths

The trade war with China may not have gone as the White House hoped — but exactly as it should’ve expected. Rather than capitulating, Chinese leaders leveraged their commanding position in mining and processing rare earth metals to pressure the US into bargaining.

News that the two countries may have reached an agreement that would delay those Chinese curbs for a year is welcome. Still, China’s gambit should be a deafening wake-up call: Piecemeal Western efforts to break the Chinese stranglehold on rare earths must be put onto an emergency footing.