Christina Lu
Washington and Kyiv appear to be inching closer to a potential rare-earth deal that could see the countries exchange Ukraine’s mineral resources for continued U.S. aid, even as industry experts warn that immense barriers stand in the way.
Rare earths—a set of 17 metallic elements that are not actually that rare, despite their name—are important to U.S. policymakers because they underpin technology from guided missiles to wind turbines. But China overwhelmingly commands their global supply chains, making control of the resources a strategic vulnerability that Washington has for years been desperate to plug.
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