republicanguard

Since this has been known for a while, it's clearly not a natsec issue (China holding H200 in HK rn), so why now? I'd pt to Trump's upcoming visit to Shenzhen + lack of Chinese response post Xi visit in Sep. Remember the hoopla & complaint after that visit about China's RE export controls? Well, the reality is that China actually isn't export less Rare Earth as a whole, but it has significantly reduced export of the big 3: Yttrium, Dyprosium & Terbium. All critical to the most advanced processes. See below, only Korea got Dyprosium in Aug/Sep & very small qty. So Trump clearly sees chip crackdown as a point of leverage against China in his negotiations. Jensen was the 1st victim of this but likely won't be last. Lutnick is the obvious next target now that his name is out on Axios. But make no mistake, this is a true natsec issue now for America. Lack of these 3 heavy RE dragging into next 3 yrs will destroy the Japanese companies involved in AI supply chain as well as the weapon supply chain. That's a far larger issue than a few extra chips getting to China, which Chinese govt is actively trying to prevent!