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The US shouldn’t have ignored a warning shot that was fired a decade and a half ago about China’s ability to use its dominance in the mining and refining of rare-earth metals to disrupt global manufacturing.

In 2010, China restricted the supply of rare-earth materials for a few months after Japanese coast guard vessels collided with a Chinese fishing boat near disputed islands in the East China Sea, resulting in a diplomatic crisis when the captain was arrested.

Following the spat, Japan rushed to develop its own supply of rare-earth elements and is now the second-largest maker of permanent magnets behind China. The US government started a review of its rare-earth dependency and joined Japan in filing a case to the World Trade Organization, but the US response was mostly muted.

This unheeded warning has now resulted in a national security crisis in which China has the ability to disrupt global production by withholding supply. The US government can turn the crisis into opportunity by stepping up funding for both research and production of rare-earth materials, but it’s headed in the wrong direction in some vital areas.

Read more at: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-10-20/white-house-is-cutting-rare-earth-research-at-the-wrong-time