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China's Upper Hand: Rare Earth Metals

6/10/2025
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In the trade war between the United States and China, the biggest sticking point is a handful of metals that are essential to the U.S. and almost entirely under the control of China.

The problem is, China has now cut off America’s access to those metals, threatening American industry and the U.S. military. Keith Bradsher explains how the United States became so dependent on China for these metals in the first place, and just how hard it will be to live without them.

Guest: Keith Bradsher, the Beijing bureau chief for The New York Times.

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For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Photo: Bert van Dijk/Getty Images

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