Keith Bradsher

This is a China that is not allowing itself to be pushed around.

We've now seen top Chinese leaders line up with the leaders of Russia and North Korea at military parades twice in six weeks in Beijing and then in Pyongyang.

And so

China has really in some ways embarked on a new geopolitical stance and a new economic stance of standing tough against the West to protect China's strategic interests.

For the rest of the world, this could be extremely damaging.

Any country with an advanced manufacturing sector has to be really worried about this.

there is the immediate damage of American companies continuing to have trouble getting enough rare earth magnets just to make their day-to-day products.

Detroit has been struggling to get enough brake motors, steering motors, power seat motors, all these different systems that require rare earth magnets.

And as more of these Chinese regulations from October 9th take effect, it will become even harder for American companies, for example, even to move parts across the border from Mexico or across the border from Canada.

The West is already having trouble in slowing down production of some military items because of the shortage of rare earths.

The West failed to stockpile these rare earths in advance.

And so the military contractors trying to supply Ukraine

or trying to rebuild inventories in the West, are really having trouble procuring the magnets they need.

So this is a big win for Russia because the West really needs these rare earths to continue supplying military equipment to Ukraine to defend itself.

And now that supply has been cut off cold by China.

China has a whole separate dispute going with Europe over cars.

The European Union became very concerned last year that China had subsidized the development of electric cars and was going to flood the European market with electric cars.

And so the European Union put tariffs in place

And there was a big loophole left in these tariffs, which is that if you put a tiny gasoline engine in, along with a great big electric system in these cars, then you don't pay any tariffs at all.

And so China has been flooding the European market, particularly this year, with exactly that category of highly capable electric cars with a tiny gasoline engine included, and they don't face any extra tariff.