America’s Rare Earths Weapon Lies Just Near LA: David Fickling

If you want to frighten a US Army general in 2025, there’s a simple trick: Just whisper the words “rare earths.”

Fears about the world’s dependency on China for the suite of 17 minerals strung along the bottom of the periodic table have become intense. Rare earths were some of the first items on the list when China hit back at Trump’s first round of tariffs last month. Beijing’s refusal to lift those curbs is a key concern for the US in talks about removing trade restrictions.

Few want to call out that this threat is a paper tiger — least of all Beijing, ...