China imposes export controls on critical minerals and derived product
China is introducing stricter export controls on critical minerals and products containing them. The move has serious consequences for Western industry, defense capability and the geopolitical situation. Trump warn China.
October 10, 2025 | INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
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China sanctions minerals, the US warns
Donald Trump reported today on Truth Social that China is imposing additional sanctions on critical minerals and rare earths; products containing minerals are also affected. According to Trump, China has sent notifications to all its trading partners (countries) regarding this. Trump states that, regardless of what other countries do, he has imposed a 100 percent tariff on China on top of existing tariffs.
Critical minerals are critical because they are necessary for the production of many products such as mobile phones, cars and renewable technology. But above all because they are decisive for military security, as they are used in the production of weapons and other military equipment.
China dominates the mineral market
China dominates around 80 percent of the market, a position it has achieved by, over several decades, sanctioning and dumping prices so that mineral production in other countries became unprofitable and investors stayed away. China has also imposed security clauses on expertise related to mineral extraction, leaving the West far behind. This is how the communist dictatorship China became the world’s most powerful country. It began long before the world knew Trump as a politician, but he is the first to challenge China, as the American president wants to bring global power back to the United States.
China supplies critical minerals, critical components and drones to Russia and has simultaneously restricted deliveries to Western weapons manufacturers, slowing weapons production. Minerals are the triggering cause of the strained geopolitical situation. When China now imposes further sanctions on critical minerals, this is extremely serious, as it means that technical components and finished products are being sanctioned. Weapons production is now being further delayed.
Contempt for Trump prevents realism
There is such strong anti-Trump sentiment in Europe that the press and the population fail to register the seriousness of the situation. It is high time to acknowledge that China and Russia are a greater threat than the United States. Let it happen BEFORE the first attacks from Russia come.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and European leaders are not transparent about developments and have security-classified actual figures on mineral resources. In media on other continents, however, we can find information indicating that there are not enough minerals on the European continent for European countries to defend themselves – democratic principles are being set aside and the population is being misled.
Europe has been placed in this critical defense situation as a result of trade policy and a lack of resource planning. Europe is entirely dependent on the United States for defense against Russia and China, which gives reason for great concern.
SOURCES
Truth Social
Donald Trump on Chinese sanctionsNew York Times
China mineral exportsE24
Kina China and power over critical minerals and rare earthsThe White House
Immediate action to increase mineral productionEuropean Union
Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA)
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