EU Wrestles With China’s Chokehold Over Crucial Defense Supplies

European metals traders are engaged in an increasingly frantic scramble to secure rare-earth metal supplies after it became all but impossible to directly source them from China.

While defense manufacturers say they can rely on stockpiling and diversified supply chains to keep their operations running, with traders turning to the secondary market, the supply crunch may soon start to bite unless a solution is found.

The seeds of this crisis were planted in early April, when Beijing cut off exports of critical minerals, such as terbium, yttrium or samarium, used
in missiles, satellites and fighter jets — and implemented a far more restrictive ...