China cuts off supplies of rare earth metals to Western defense companies
China restricts the supply of critical minerals to Western defense companies, delaying production and forcing them to search for reserves of raw materials around the world. This is reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Manufacturers supplying products to the U.
S. Army use minerals mined in China. This applies, in particular, to microelectronics, engines for UAVs, night vision devices, as well as guidance systems for missiles and military satellites.
Due to the growing tensions in trade relations between the United States and China, Beijing has tightened controls on exports of rare earths. Although exports were partially resumed later, after a series of trade concessions from the Trump administration, China continues to block the supply of strategically important minerals used in the defense sector.
Some materials needed for the defense industry now sell for five or more times the price.
One of the companies said that it had recently been offered to buy samarium, a metal needed to produce magnets capable of withstanding the extreme temperatures of jet engines, at a price 60 times higher than the standard price.
It should be noted that today China provides about 90% of the world's needs for rare earth elements and dominates the production of many other critical minerals. Although Western companies have been trying to find alternative sources of Chinese minerals in recent years, they have failed to do so. In addition to recent export restrictions on rare earths, since December China has banned the sale of Germanium, gallium and antimony to the United States, elements that are used, in particular, for bullets, projectiles, as well as in night vision devices.
Some companies have already warned of possible production cuts if mineral supplies do not improve. Recently, Leonardo DRS reported that the American defense division was left with only reserve reserves of Germanium. The latter is used in infrared sensors that are part of rockets and other equipment.
Restrictions on the supply of critical minerals once again emphasize the dependence of the American defense industry on China, which gives Beijing serious leverage in the face of escalating geopolitical tensions and difficult trade negotiations.
Experts consider drone manufacturers to be the most vulnerable, as many of them are small startups with limited revenues and weak supply chain controls. As some representatives of the defense industry say, such companies have not managed to accumulate significant amounts of rare earth metals at all.
In total, more than 80,000 components used in the armament of the US Department of Defense are made from critically important