Serial Posters..., page-8

Currently Biden has shut down the US as a exporter of energy, namely oil and natural gas, an action that many people say led to the police action by Russia entering day 3.

Would he shut down US as a exporter of rare earth if it was ever to become one, think Mountain Pass in California, that's only dirt dug out of a hole isn't it? I mean to say he has to follow his own lead correct? Because it's all about the climate. Biden must surely police himself and his policies. Moving dirt is not the same thing as moving oil and gas. We need a predictable non-waffling President in office in the US.

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By Mary Hui

Reporter

Published December 15, 2021Last updated December 28, 2021

In September, the US commerce department launched an investigation into the national security impact of imports of neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets, the most widely manufactured rare earth magnet.

Governments, businesses, and experts submitted public comments to weigh in on whether the US should slap tariffs on imports of NdFeB magnets as a way of counteracting the security risks of being overly reliant on imports from foreign countries, especially China.

Under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, the president can impose tariffs on products that the commerce department deems to be imported “in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security.”

The EU and Japan think magnet tariffs are counterproductive

Among the comments submitted by the Nov. 12 deadline, the European Union came out most strongly in opposition to any kind of US tariffs on NdFeB magnets, which have a broad range of military and civilian industrial uses. They are used in electric vehicles and wind turbines, in fighter aircraft and missile guidance systems, and in consumer electronics like smartphones and fridges.

“The current US administration continues to launch US Section 232 national security investigations, for what appears to be industrial policy reasons,” the bloc wrote in its statement. “The proliferation of such investigations and possible actions under the guise of national security to protect certain industrial sectors against foreign competition is of great concern to the EU.”

Noting that the EU, like the US, is working to enhance its own magnet supply chain and reduce import dependency, the bloc added that “keeping market conditions predictable and undistorted is a key to attain these objectives” and that EU industry would be “negatively affected by any import restrictions” enforced by the US.