Rare Earths: Cause for Worry, not Panic

Derek Scissors / October 06, 2010

There are legitimate concerns over Chinese dominance in rare earth minerals but the near-frenzied nature of some of some assessments is unjustified. The long-term problems stemming from Chinese control will be resolved by the market; only the short-term problems are potentially threatening, and those remain vague.

Rare earths have achieved a lofty status. They are recognized as important in military, environmental, and other high tech equipment. In the past few weeks, foreign policy joined that list, on speculation China’s interference with rare earth exports to Japan caused Tokyo to back down in their recent spat. (more…)