REE: Rare Earth Elements example: tungsten, molybdenum, dysprosium, terbium, europium, neodymium and yttrium
Usage: clean-energy technologies such as wind turbines and solar panels
Notes from article:
- China produces at least 90 percent of the world’s rare earths, 17 chemically similar metallic elements used in Boeing Co. (BA) helicopter blades, Nokia Oyj (NOKIA) cell phones, Toyota Motor Corp. hybrid cars and wind turbines.
- China’s policy goal is to protect resources, environment, not to distort market or guard industry, the country’s Ministry of Commerce said in statement on website.
- The U.S.-China trade deficit widened to $295 billion last year and the imbalance is a main source of friction between the two countries.
- We all thought that China was being unfair,” Moreno said.
Another article discussed the same topic China’s rare earth monopoly challenged
-Foreign companies pay up to twice as much as Chinese firms for rare earth metals, the EU says.
“These restrictions… benefit Chinese industry,” the official said. “Therefore they are against WTO rules.”
The EU directly imports 350-million euros worth of rare earths from China each year,
-China accounts for about 97% of the world’s output of the 17 rare earth metals, which are crucial for global electronics production and the defence and renewable-energy industries
Thoughts:
-it is surprisingly to see China actually is the main producer of REE instead of being the consumer, since they have always been the major consumer in natural resources like copper and gold.
-the commodity prices and its demand and supply has been strongly linked with politics between countries, like how could China and US achieve a "fair" trade situation. What is fairness? When did trade and business become non-beneficial?
-it is interesting to see China has a policy goal to "protect resources, environment, not to distort market or guard industry", what regulation and law have they enforced?
Thanks
Lawrence
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