Over the past few decades, the US-China relationship has evolved into more of a rivalry than anything else. This has left the United States eager to decouple from China on several critical issues. One such issue is the supply of rare earths. After all, China refines almost 90% of the world’s rare earths. Moreover, the country is responsible for more than 50% of RE mining, as per figures given by International Energy Agency. The US currently relies on two nations for its rare earth needs: China and Russia. We all know where the country stands vis-à-vis Russia. Fortunately, China remains on the US’ “friendlies” list – f ... (full story)