October 5, 2026 — Rare Earth Minerals: Essential and Problematic
Check out this week’s blog post by IP attorney and author Timothy Trainer, host of the podcast and video show Tim’s Travails • Follow Tim on Substack
Image source: rare-earth-mining.com
Weapons systems, commercial and military aircraft, electric vehicles, medical equipment, wind turbines, laptops, mobile phones, televisions all have something in common: they contain various rare earth elements (REE). Today’s world is driven by high-tech products in commercial and residential use. REEs seem to be in everything we need to make things operate properly.
At present, the problem is that China holds the key to many of these essential REEs. Reuters reported recently that “China controls up to 70% of global rare-earth mining, 85% of refining capacity, and about 90% of rare-earth metal alloy and magnet production:” Rare earths force Trump to be less hostile before Xi summit | Reuters. Given the outsized role China plays, China has the ability to use REEs to counter any foreign government’s efforts to impose economic sanctions on it.
In 2025, China introduced new export controls on REEs, related compounds and magnets that led to “automakers in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere struggling to source permanent magnets. Some had to reduce utilization rates or temporarily halt production:” These little-known metals that our cars, wind turbines, and phones depend on have experts worried. China has been using its commanding REE position to withhold REEs from Japan after Japan’s Prime Minister made statements related to Taiwan’s status that annoyed the mainland leadership. China’s Rare Earth Campaign Against Japan.
Needless to say, China’s command and control of REEs poses significant economic headaches for foreign countries and foreign companies. The potential negative effects of China’s dominance in REEs include its ability to hinder sophisticated weapons production in countries like the U.S. This dominance will continue despite efforts by numerous countries to diversify sources of REEs.
An active effort to diversify the REE supply chain is in full swing. According to one source, seven of the top ten mining projects aiming to provide alternative REE sources are located in Australia and the United States: Top 10 Rare Earth Mining Projects: 2026 Global Ranking. However, projects face daunting challenges as the various stages from mining to processing and refining require tens of billions of investment dollars. There are environmental issues to overcome, which is what caused the mining industries to die out in many countries like the U.S. and in Europe, thereby surrendering the market to China.
The other issue to note is that while Australia, Europe, the United States, Japan, and others work toward rebuilding their mining industries to provide REEs, China won’t be sitting still. China is aware that its dominance is forcing countries to find ways to lessen their dependence on China. China has already imposed controls on “processing equipment and technologies” and has implemented new measures to restrict “trade in any internationally made parts, components and assemblies containing Chinese-sourced rare-earth materials or produced using Chinese technologies:” These little-known metals that our cars, wind turbines, and phones depend on have experts worried.
REE are essential in today’s global economy and are necessary to make things work safely. The friction point is when one country is so dominant in the supply chain that all other countries are subject to the decisions and whims of the government that can control the flow, turning the spigot on and off whenever it chooses.
As already seen, China has used its dominance in trade negotiations with the U.S. by pressuring the U.S. to soften its tariff stance. China uses the REE card with Japan and others, demonstrating the impact it can have on various industries when REEs are scarce or unavailable elsewhere.
And, as a real-world challenge, the role of REEs in the tensions between companies and governments can be a theme in a novel like The China Dilemma.
About Timothy Trainer: Writing books is a passion for attorney Timothy Trainer, who for more than three decades focused on intellectual property issues in his day job. He has worked in government agencies and in the private sector, and his assignments have taken him to 60 countries around the world.
Tim found time to pen a few non-fiction tomes, including his first book, Customs Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights;the 15th edition was published in 2022. Thomson Reuters’ Aspatore Books published Tim’s next title in 2015, Potato Chips to Computer Chips: The War on Fake Stuff.
Fiction was a genre he always wanted to try. In 2019, Pendulum Over the Pacific, was released by Joshua Tree Publishing. “This political intrigue story is set in Tokyo and Washington, D.C., and centers on trade tensions between the U.S. and Japan in the late 1980s,” Tim explains.
In 2023, his first series hit bookstores: The China Connection.
In 2025, he published the sequel, The China Factor, which ranked #63 on the Amazon Asian Literature list in May.
Coming this Fall: The China Dilemma!
Click here to buy all of Tim’s books.
