After US President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs, the Chinese government added export controls on seven categories of heavy rare earth-related items. Previously, China had already included key materials such as gallium, germanium, graphite, and antimony in the restricted list. The significant expansion of the relevant restricted list may enhance China's leverage in its tariff war with the US and cause important disruptions to raw material supplies for US high-tech manufacturing. Bloomberg analysts pointed out this trend.
China is the largest producer of rare earths, accounting for about 70% of global total production. In recent years, China has repeatedly used restrictions on rare earth exports as a countermeasure in Sino-US trade frictions.
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828767006554249/
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