Laramie Boomerang quotes Vekasi about China’s monopoly on minerals

The Laramie Boomerang quoted Kristin Vekasi, an assistant professor of political science and policy and international affairs at the University of Maine, in the article titled “Growing tensions with China could affect land deal.” Vekasi was part of a National Press Foundation Webinar on global trade during coronavirus on July 7, 2020. Titled “Essential Ingredients: Will China’s Dominance in Raw Materials Imperil the US?,” the briefing discussed why the U.S. gave up production of many vital raw materials (such as vitamins and rare Earth elements), what could happen if China locks down exports of them, and the prospects for diversifying vital supply chains. “For decades, China’s state-run monopoly on rare Earth minerals has been one of the few arrows in the country’s quiver,” she said, “and one that it threatened to use in a 2010 trade dispute with Japan in 2010.”