Trump escalates pressure on China over auto sector imports, raising fears of new tariffs and consumer costs in the United States.

Amid border conflict with Myanmar and a trade war with the US, Beijing’s heavy rare earth restrictions are having a global impact.

But, so far, the EU has no operational rare earth mines and only two major processing plants. Overcoming environmental objections to processing could be even harder than gaining access to the mineral.

Thankfully, last week President Trump delayed assessing higher tariffs on Chinese imports by another 90 days. China followed suit and delayed its own tariffs.