China has imposed export controls against two U.S. rare earth producers that are part of Washington’s effort to reduce its dependence on Beijing by establishing an alternative supply chain for the critical minerals.
MP Materials?and USA Rare Earth?have been added to China’s export control list to “safeguard national security and interests,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement Monday.
The decision ends a monthslong lull in China’s use of such restrictions against U.S. companies following last October’s summit between U.S. President?Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. In a separate statement, the Commerce Ministry said the move was in response to the Pentagon’s decision this month to add some of China’s biggest companies to a roster of firms it accuses of supporting the Chinese military.
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