Trade and Trade Restrictions: The Debate over Chinese Rare Earth Elements

Rare earth elements (REEs) or rare earth metals are a collection of seventeen chemical elements in the periodic table, namely scandium, yttrium, and the fifteen lanthanides. Until recently, the global dependency on China for rare earths was a well-kept secret. But word started to spread fast after Beijing cut export quotas by 70 per cent for the second half of 2010, sending prices of some oxides - the purified form of rare earth elements - up as much as 850 per cent. This article is designed to evaluate what rare earth elements are and explores China's current monopoly over the industry. The study provides insights into how widely traded these minerals are and China's positions in the international trade both in terms of volume and value. The study investigates who are the major customers and analyzes the various trade restrictions imposed by China. The study capitulates instructive and actionable data for considering how China's decreasing exports, and fresh technological uses are setting up an unprecedented discussion on the REEs.