It took a few days for the measure to be understood, as it was overshadowed by the staggering escalation in tariff rates between the United States and China. On April 4, Beijing announced restrictions on exports of seven rare earth metals, elements whose names are unfamiliar but which are essential for manufacturing in sectors such as home appliances, cars, electronics and defense. In its economic power struggle with Washington, China has brandished a formidable trade weapon: rare earths.

Over the years, China's dominance in this sector has only grown: It now accounts for 70% of the extraction of these strategic metals and 90% of their refining. This gives China a major bargaining chip to use against Washington, even more so than its smartphone factories. Hence US President Donald Trump's interest in Greenland's or Ukraine's rare earth reserves and his April 24 executive order to accelerate deep-sea exploration and extraction, including in international waters.

More specifically, for every customer they have, Chinese producers will now have to apply for export licenses to sell these seven metals, rare earth elements that are classified as "heavy" due to their atomic weight. Because of their chemical properties, they are used in petroleum product refining as well as the production of lasers, screens, contrast agents for hospital scanners, car braking systems, wind turbines, aerospace components and LED lamps. Two of them, terbium and dysprosium, ensure that magnets made with rare earth alloys, which are more powerful than those made from other metals, are heat resistant, making them indispensable in all electric motors.

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