Policy researcher says Beijing weaponizes export controls on critical minerals in response to US tariffs, threatening global supply chains at congressional briefing

Trivium China Associate Director Cory Combs discusses how Beijing sought new forms of material leverage to retaliate against US trade controls over the past two years, finding that leverage in critical minerals by instituting export controls on a total of 16 distinct sets of minerals along with associated production equipment, a process that began in mid-2023 with controls on gallium and germanium chip materials in response to US tech controls, which accelerated recently under the Trump administration's tariffs against China, rattling global markets and directly threatening supply chains of American producers and key trading partners. at a US-China Economic and Security Review Commission briefing on risks of Chinese components and critical minerals in global energy infrastructure.