China widens ban on rare earth minerals
An interesting development on the China rare earths front (who ever thought that geology could be so exciting). The New York Times is reporting that China is now blocking rare earth shipments to the U.S. and Europe:
â??The embargo is expandingâ? beyond Japan, said one of the three rare earth industry officials, all of whom insisted on anonymity for fear of business retaliation by Chinese authorities.They said Chinese customs officials imposed the broader restrictions on Monday morning, hours after a top Chinese official summoned international news media Sunday night to denounce United States trade actions.
This is ultimately going to prove self-defeating for China, but it will prove very lucrative for anyone in the U.S. mining industry. Relatedly, I wonder what this action does to the "responsible stakeholder" view of a rising China.
(AP Photo)
