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A rare earth mining mine in Inner Mongolia, a region of China. REUTERS / Stringer

Washington has just announced a plan to secure its supply of strategic minerals and rare earths in order to no longer depend on Chinese exports.

The trade war between Washington and Beijing is escalating. In retaliation for Washington's decision to ban US companies from selling technology to China's Huawei, China, which produces almost all of the rare earths needed for all electronic equipment, is threatening the US to restrict them 'access. To avoid dependency, the Americans unveiled Tuesday, June 4 an action plan to ensure the supply of the country's vital minerals, including rare earths.

" These critical minerals are often ignored, but without them modern life would be impossible, " said US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, saying the federal government " is taking unprecedented steps to ensure that the United States will not not cut off from these vital materials . "

Minerals essential to digital industries

Washington takes the threat seriously, because these rare earths are 17 metals with electronic and luminescent properties that are essential to advanced technologies. We find them in our everyday objects such as smartphones, electric cars, solar panels, computer screens, and they are vital for the digital industry, energy or weapons. They are therefore highly strategic, and it is China that today accounts for nearly 90% of world production. This warning highlights the dependence of high-tech that represents a whole section of the US economy.

In the 1990s, the United States was a leader in the production of rare earths, but the 2003 ecological disaster at the Mountain Pass mine in California - which was then the only rare earth mine in the United States - put a stop to its production. It was finally reopened in 2011 after a spike in rare earth prices. If China puts its threat into effect, it would be a disaster for the United States. Certainly, rare earths are present on all the surface of the planet, but their exploitation is expensive and especially very polluting. The extraction of these metals is not without risk for the environment, because it requires the use of excessively toxic products that contaminate soils and watercourses. If this is a problem for many countries, it is not a problem for China, which has concentrated its production in Mongolia, a rather desert region. These rare earths become an economic weapon for Beijing, which would see itself bend the United States in the dispute between them on tariffs.

A plan of action not to depend on imports

An unthinkable situation for Americans. Washington has just announced an action plan to ensure the supply of strategic minerals. The document lists 35 essential elements, including uranium, titanium and rare earths. The report points out that for 14 of them " the United States has no domestic production and is completely dependent on imports " and that for others the country imports the equivalent of more than 50% of its annual consumption.

The US strategic plan plans to identify all natural resources available on US soil in order to exploit them in the near future. Americans will intensify the search. They want to develop cleaner extraction processes , but also accelerate the recycling of these minerals. Washington also plans to strengthen cooperation and improve international trade in these minerals with its allies.