A Looming Rare Earth Shortage Threatens Critical Tech
The U.S. faces a potential supply chain crisis regarding rare earth elements erbium and yttrium, which are critical for fiber-optic communications and jet engine technology. China currently holds a near-monopoly on these materials, creating significant geopolitical leverage ahead of upcoming trade negotiations.
Why it matters
Dependence on a single source for essential materials used in defense and data infrastructure poses a major national security risk.
There are 17 rare earth elements . While almost all of them have vital industrial uses, you could be forgiven for believing, based on news coverage, that there are only four that matter: neodymium , praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium.
To be sure, those are the essential ingredients in the powerful permanent-magnet motors that go into electric vehicles , heating and cooling systems, appliances, tools, fighter jets, bombs, and many other systems. But the industrial and national-security importance of rare earth elements goes far beyond magnets. Among the 13 other rare earths are two—erbium and yttirum—whose importance is no less vital, and which are now facing a looming geopolitical deadline this November. Depending on how negotiations play out, the post-deadline framework could erode U.S. national security—or redraw U.S.–China trade relations.
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