AI
Thursday, April 07, 2011 10:58:42 PM
Washington Mulls Stockpiling Rare Earths
With China building up its strategic reserves of rare earth metals even as it crimps exports, a new piece of counter-China legislation on rare earths introduced to the U.S. Congress reflects the depths of Washington’s anxiety over the sector.
China has been storing up supplies of rare earths for months, recently passing a tax that could help further fund the effort, in what analysts see as a bid by Beijing to further tighten its control over a market it already dominates.
The issue of whether the U.S. itself should start stockpiling on national defense grounds is one the biggest questions surrounding the global response to China’s tight control over rare earths, which are crucial for making magnets in wind turbines and polishing the glass in night-vision goggles.
The new bill, introduced Wednesday by Colorado Republic Rep. Mike Coffman, “Seeks to Curtail Dangerous Reliance on China for Critical Materials,” according to the press release.
The Armed Services Committee member’s bill – dubbed “Resart” – stops short of calling for a permanent military stockpile. Instead, it would establish a quasi-government inventory built from U.S. production sources, which at this moment are limited.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/04/07/washington-mulls-stockpiling-rare-earths/
With China building up its strategic reserves of rare earth metals even as it crimps exports, a new piece of counter-China legislation on rare earths introduced to the U.S. Congress reflects the depths of Washington’s anxiety over the sector.
China has been storing up supplies of rare earths for months, recently passing a tax that could help further fund the effort, in what analysts see as a bid by Beijing to further tighten its control over a market it already dominates.
The issue of whether the U.S. itself should start stockpiling on national defense grounds is one the biggest questions surrounding the global response to China’s tight control over rare earths, which are crucial for making magnets in wind turbines and polishing the glass in night-vision goggles.
The new bill, introduced Wednesday by Colorado Republic Rep. Mike Coffman, “Seeks to Curtail Dangerous Reliance on China for Critical Materials,” according to the press release.
The Armed Services Committee member’s bill – dubbed “Resart” – stops short of calling for a permanent military stockpile. Instead, it would establish a quasi-government inventory built from U.S. production sources, which at this moment are limited.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/04/07/washington-mulls-stockpiling-rare-earths/
My post is for my own entertainment, do your own DD
before pushing your buy/sell buttons
Discover What Traders Are Watching
Explore small cap ideas before they hit the headlines.
