IEA warns China rare earth curbs put $6.5T in production at risk

The IEA warns that China's full implementation of rare earth export controls risks disrupting $6.5T in global downstream production across automotive, high-tech, defence, and energy sectors. China controls the vast majority of rare earth supply, making diversification of these critical mineral chains economically urgent. If you make anything that needs rare earths - motors, magnets, semiconductors, batteries - your supply chain has a hard deadline: find an alternative source, secure a long-term contract, or accept that China now controls your cost curve and delivery. The $6.5T at risk is real money, which means buyers and governments will fund workarounds; that's your customer base for the next two years.