美國製造的稀土- 在對日本供應的協議中繞過中國

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

US-Made Rare Earths to Skip China in Supply Deal With Japan

Masumi Suga

Tue, February 21, 2023 at 9:07 p.m. PST

(Bloomberg) -- America’s only rare-earths producer has agreed a deal to ship output from its new processing plant to Japan, part of a broader move by the US and allies to reduce China’s role in their critical supply chains.

MP Materials Corp., owner of the Mountain Pass mine in California, will sell material from its separation unit direct to trading giant Sumitomo Corp. for distribution in Japan. The mine’s output has typically gone to China for processing, with Japanese companies purchasing from there.

The agreement will “stabilize, diversify, and strengthen a supply chain of critical importance to Japan’s manufacturing sector,” the US and Japanese companies said in a joint statement. The companies gave no details about volumes or timing.

Mountain Pass has emerged as a flagship operation for the US push to reshape flows of critical minerals. It accounted for about 15% of the world’s mined rare earths supply in 2021, and President Joe Biden last year signed off on $35 million in extra funding for its push beyond just mining.

The US is spearheading a drive to reduce China’s stranglehold over flows of minerals deemed to be of strategic importance. In rare earths, China hosts some 85% of global refining capacity, according to the White House.

As well as the separation plant, MP Materials is also planning a factory in Texas to make rare-earth magnets, which are vital in everything from smartphones to electric vehicles and military hardware.

The US government is exploring narrowly-focused trade pacts on critical minerals with Japan and the UK, in addition to talks with the European Union, the latest salvo in its push to counter Chinese influence in key sectors, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 11.

Translation

（彭博社） - 美國唯一的稀土生產商已同意將其新加工廠的稀土產品運往日本，這是美國及其盟國為減少中國在其關鍵供應鏈中的作用而採取的更廣泛舉措的一部分。

加州 Mountain Pass 礦的所有者 MP Materials Corp. 將把來自其分離部門的材料直接出售給貿易巨頭 Sumitomo Corp.，以便在日本分銷。 該礦的產出通常運往中國進行加工，而日本公司從那裡採購。

美國和日本公司在一份聯合聲明中表示，該協議將 “穩定、多樣化和加強對日本製造業至關重要的供應鏈” 。 這些公司沒有提供有關數量或時間上的詳細信息。

Mountain Pass 已成為美國推動重塑關鍵礦產流動的行動旗艦。 到 2021 年，它約佔世界稀土開採供應量的 15%，美國總統拜登去年簽署了 3,500 萬美元的額外資金，以推動其在採礦以外的領域的發展。

美國帶頭推動減少中國對被認為具有戰略重要性的礦產流通的完全控制。 據白宮稱，在稀土方面，中國擁有全球約 85% 的精煉產能。

除了分離工廠，MP Materials 還計劃在得克薩斯州建立一家工廠，生產稀土磁體，稀土磁體在從智能手機到電動汽車和軍事硬件的所有領域都至關重要。

據彭博社 2 月 11 日報導，除了與歐盟的談判之外，美國政府還在與日本和英國探討關鍵礦產的精準聚焦的貿易協定，這是美國政府在關鍵領域對抗中國影響力的最新舉措。

              So, America’s only rare-earths producer has signed a deal to export its output to Japan which previously shipped to China for processing. The effect is to reduce US reliance on China’s role in this critical supply chain. I consider this is a kind of decoupling.