A wheel loader operator fills a truck with ore at the MP Materials rare earth mine in Mountain Pass, California, January 30, 2020.
Steve Marcus | Reuters
Shares of U.S. rare earth miners jumped Friday after President Donald Trump threatened countermeasures against China, accusing Beijing of holding the world “captive” with its strict export controls.
“I will be forced, as President of the United States of America, to financially counter their move,” Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social.
“One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America,” the president said. “There are many other countermeasures that are, likewise, under serious consideration.”
MP Materials surged more than 8%, USA Rare Earth advanced about 5%, Energy Fuels gained more than 3%, and NioCorp Developments rose more than 5%.
China this week imposed more stringent export controls on rare earths, a subset of critical minerals that are crucial inputs for U.S. weapons platforms, robotics, electric vehicles, and electronics among other applications. Beijing dominates the global supply chain for rare earths and the U.S. is dependent on imports from China.
The U.S. Defense Department struck an uprecedented deal in July with MP Materials, the largest U.S. rare earth miner, in an effort to stand up a domestic supply against China.
China is now requiring foreign entities to obtain a license to export products that contain rare earths worth 0.1% or more of the goods’ value. Companies will also need export licenses if they use China’s extraction, refining or magnet recycling technology.
China imposed the controls before Trump was expected to meet President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Seoul, South Korea later this month.
“I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so,” Trump said.
(Source)