The Australian and US Governments both recognise the strategic importance of rare earths to technological advances. The recent escalation of the trade dispute between China, the largest producer of rare earths, and the US, one of the largest consumers, has seen China threaten to restrict exports as a form of tariff retaliation. Despite previous threats nearly a decade ago, it is only now that both Governments are seeing the strategic value in supporting and developing a rare earths sector that is not dependent on China. What you drive, how your energy is produced and how you are defended are all on the line in this escalating dispute.
