U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave an interview to the Financial Times on Oct. 31, in which he revealed how seriously the administration took China’s Oct. 9 announcement to restrict rare earth mineral exports. “China has alerted everyone to the danger. They’ve made a real mistake,” Bessent told FT. “It’s one thing to put the gun on the table. It’s another thing to fire shots in the air.” Despite this, he claimed that the two leaders reached an “equilibrium” during their meeting.
“I don’t think they’re able to do it now because we have offsetting measures,” Bessent claimed, adding that the U.S. would be able to find alternative supplies of rare earth in no more than 12 to 24 months. FT notes that experts think it will take 10 years or more for the U.S. to produce rare earth elements domestically, due to onerous permitting requirements.
