On April 13, Musk tweeted: rare earths are everywhere, but what China has and other countries don't is the industrial support for refining rare earths. He also mentioned in passing that lithium is the same. According to a March report by The Wall Street Journal, as of 2023, China produces 99% of the world's supply of heavy rare earth metals, with a small amount coming from a refinery in Vietnam. However, due to tax disputes, this refinery in Vietnam has also been shut down. In addition to its large supply of rare earths, China also dominates global rare earth processing technology. MP Materials, the only rare earth mine in the United States, needs to ship two-thirds of the rare earths it mines to China for processing into rare earth magnets, which are then exported back to the U.S.
On April 8, Newsweek reported that the production fate of America's newest fighter jet F-47 depends on rare earth metals imported from China, and China has already restricted exports of rare earth metals. If Trump continues to impose tariffs on China, it may become even harder for American tech companies to obtain lithium and rare earth elements. James Litinsky, founder of MP Materials, lamented, "Drones and robotics are widely regarded as future weapons of war, and our access to critical rare earth materials in the supply chain has been cut off."
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1829386252137802/
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