Symbolic imageJapan warns of yttrium shortage as China tightens rare earth supply
Japan is months from running out of yttrium and has asked the US to press China to ease rare earth export controls, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The metal is vital to car, jet engine and chip production.
Tokyo made the request to the US government and American companies, according to people familiar with the matter cited by the FT. Japanese officials and trading house executives say shortages could emerge by the end of this year unless Beijing changes course or allies find substitutes or stockpiles. "Stockpiles are decreasing and rare earth saving efforts have a limit," a Japanese official said. Argus puts yttrium oxide outside China at $1,150 per kilogramme, a 179-fold rise in two years, against $9 inside China.
Beijing's pledges under scrutiny
The US says China is not honouring the easing of rare earth controls it promised under the trade truce of last October. A senior US official told the FT last month that China was meeting two-thirds of its commitments to Washington while letting Japan buy only the bare minimum. Beijing has also tightened controls against Japan since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan last year.
New Chinese tech controls
FAZ reports that days after an EU deal limiting Chinese hybrid car exports, Beijing announced new curbs on AI, biotech, solar modules, drones and tunnel-boring machines. Beijing cites national security, while FAZ considers building bargaining leverage likely.