China’s Monopoly on Rare Earth Elements

Electric cars and dozens of other promising technologies depend on the availability of rare earth elements. There is no place that these rare earth elements are more crucial than in the defense industry. Unfortunately for the United Sates and the EU, 97% of the annual production of rare earth materials is controlled by China. What are the economic and national security implications of this situation? How will western nations respond? We'll fill you in.

In the early 1950s, prospectors in California were not .....