Securing Rare-Earth Supply Chains Beyond China and the US
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/editorial. "The Guardian view on rare earths: it’s common sense to secure essential supply chains | Editorial | The Guardian." August 30, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The Guardian argues that countries, especially in Europe, need to stop relying on China (or solely on an unpredictable US) for rare-earth minerals that power everything from smartphones to wind turbines. Since China has already used its dominance as a political weapon and the US under Trump is unreliable, Europe should build stockpiles, invest in its own supply chains, and form partnerships with other countries to secure these critical resources before the current trade truce expires.
Conclusion
Europe and other nations must urgently diversify and secure their own rare-earth supply chains through stockpiling, investment, and multilateral partnerships, rather than relying solely on China or the United States.
Premises
- China dominates rare-earth mining (70%) and processing (90%), giving it significant geopolitical leverage, as demonstrated by export curbs against Japan in 2010 and against the US during the recent trade war.
- Rare earths are essential to critical technologies including weaponry, electronics, EVs, and renewable energy infrastructure, making supply disruptions strategically dangerous.
- The current US-China trade truce expires in November, and prices of key elements like erbium are already rising in anticipation of renewed export controls, indicating imminent risk.
- The Trump administration has proven unreliable as a sole partner due to its erratic trade policies, wild use of trade weapons, and even territorial threats (e.g., Greenland), making dependence on Washington alone risky.
- Existing diversification efforts (US critical minerals reserve, Pentagon investment in MP Minerals, EU Critical Raw Materials Act, French processing facility) show the strategy is feasible but currently insufficient and too slow, particularly in Europe.
- A multilateral approach with likeminded allies, combined with stockpiling and serious investment, is necessary because no single country can independently solve the supply chain vulnerability.
Assumptions
- Diversifying supply chains is achievable within a reasonable timeframe despite the costly, complex, and environmentally damaging nature of rare-earth extraction and processing.
- Predictable demand and pricing mechanisms can be successfully built into new supply chain plans to sustain investment.
- Multilateral partnerships with countries like Brazil, South Africa, and Greenland will be more stable and reliable than dependence on China or the US alone.
- The ecological costs of new extraction sites are an acceptable tradeoff for supply chain security, or can be mitigated through innovation like recycling.
- European institutions and governments have the political will and coordination capacity to accelerate their currently slow diversification efforts.