The Borneo Post

US gives rare earths reprieve in revised US$200 bln China tariff list

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BEIJING: The United States did not include rare earth elements, metals used in magnets, radars and consumer electronic­s, from its final list of tariffs on US$ 200 billion of Chinese goods, underscori­ng its reliance on China for the strategic minerals.

China is the world’s largest producer of rare earths and the biggest supplier to the United States, according the US Geological Survey.

Rare earth elements and minor metals have broad applicatio­ns in US industry, ranging from jet engines to mobile phones to oil and gas drilling.

Most of the minerals the US had originally targeted for tariffs were on a list of 35 minerals published by the US Department of the Interior in May that were deemed critical to the country’s security and economic prosperity.

Rare earth metals and their compounds, as well as mixtures of rare earth oxides or chlorides, were all included on a provisiona­l list of tariffs on Chinese goods unveiled by the Office of the US Trade Representa­tive ( USTR) in July.

However, the final list released on Monday does not mention rare earths, a group of 15 lanthanide metallic elements plus the metals scandium and yttrium.

The latest tariffs will go into effect on Sept 24 at a rate of 10 per cent.

Permanent metal magnets and articles intended to become permanent magnets, which could include rare earth oxides neodymium and praseodymi­um, also dropped off the list.

That category accounted for US$ 191.2 million of imports in 2017, according to the USTR.

The United States is aware of the strategic importance of rare earth metals as illustrate­d by a US law passed last month that bans the purchase of rare earth magnets from China for the military in the 2019 fiscal year, said Dylan Kelly, a resources analyst at brokerage CLSA in Sydney.

The law “clearly highlighte­d how exposed the nation was to any kind of disruption to the Chinese supply chain,” said Kelly. — Reuters

 ??  ?? A labourer operates a bulldozer at a site of a rare earth metals mine at Nancheng county, Jiangxi province. China is the world’s largest producer of rare earths and the biggest supplier to the United States, according the US Geological Survey. — Reuters photo
A labourer operates a bulldozer at a site of a rare earth metals mine at Nancheng county, Jiangxi province. China is the world’s largest producer of rare earths and the biggest supplier to the United States, according the US Geological Survey. — Reuters photo

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