Rare earth elements and their significance in world diplomacy

Nations like the U.S., EU members, and Australia are investing in domestic mining and diversification to reduce dependency. This competition over access, processing, and trade of REEs has turned them into tools of economic influence.

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Countries with abundant REE reserves, especially China, hold significant leverage over global supply chains. As demand grows for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and advanced electronics, control over REE production becomes a geopolitical asset. Nations like the U.S., EU members, and Australia are investing in domestic mining and diversification to reduce dependency. This competition over access, processing, and trade of REEs has turned them into tools of economic influence and national security, making them central to 21st-century diplomatic and trade strategies.

Rare earth elements (REEs) are a group of 17 metallic elements crucial to modern technology and industry, despite the misleading name—they're not especially rare in Earth's crust. Their unique chemical and physical properties make them essential for producing high-performance electronics, renewable energy infrastructure, and many everyday technologies.

Rare earth elements include the 15 lanthanides on the periodic table (atomic numbers 57 to 71), along with scandium (21) and yttrium (39), which are often grouped with the lanthanides because they occur in the same mineral deposits and share similar properties.