Pentagon Loses Control of Bombs to China Metal Monopoly

The US, in search of the low prices, embarked on a privatization kick, and companies turned over many production facilities to China. The US failed to enact industrial polices, subsidize strategic industries and turned to short-term profit grabs. The result is that it now depends on China for rare-earth metals, essential ingredients for state-of-the-art technology, including military applications. China’s long-term planning and embrace of science has paid off. A Chinese MIT student recommended controlled export of rare-earth minerals in 1986. “The U.S. handed its main economic rival power to dictate access to these building blocks of modern weapons by ceding control of prices and supply,” explain Peter Robison and Gopal Ratnam for Bloomberg. An Indiana plant that once supplied 80 percent of US smart-bomb magnets now provides dog care. China cornered the market in processing the metals. Delays, shipping bans, export quotas raise prices, encourage stockpiling and cast a shadow over future technology development by the US. – YaleGlobal