reuters.com

sunzu , to World News in China issues rare earth regulations to further protect domestic supply

Well, looks like they are trying to feed their own industry first.

I don't see this either shocking or surprising. China will do what is best for China, we do what is best for ...

FiniteBanjo OP ,

What is best for China is peaceful coexistence and small concessions to incentivize trade and development of the world.

What China is doing is maliciously taking everything they can get their hands on until every bridge is burned, and by the looks of it they're ramping up military production to cross the river and keep taking.

Exactly the sort of shortsighted belligerent actions you would expect from a dictatorship.

sunzu ,

I am not here to excuse China's behavior but this action appears to be part of the trade war that US and EU started... for valid reasons.

We do a lot to make other countries "uncomfortable", there is nothing special about Chinese behavior here per se.

Let's not forget that we enabled China's rise. People within western governments who committed this crime are not held accountable for this blunder.

Now they are gearing us for what appears to be at very least economic conflict but likely a war. This is very concerning.

small concessions to incentivize trade and development of the world.

FYI we don't do this btw

FiniteBanjo OP ,

LMAO, China has been playing games with currency values and undercutting electronics manufacturers for decades.

FYI we don’t do this btw

In 1979, President Carter proposed a Trade Agreement that changed China to favored trader status with much lower tariffs across the board, and in return China agreed to a cap on textile output so as not to flood the market with cheaper goods than the USA was producing.

The 1980s saw even more favorable deals in exchange for similar restrictions as Reagan was eager to work with China.

Trade broke down in the 1990s over China committing crimes against their own people, broadcasted live across the entire world.

In 2000 President Clinton helped China enter the WTO to renew trade again.

And in return they spent the last 24 years shitting the bed, doing everything in their power to mess with any market they can, like sharks drawn to blood.

sunzu ,

From my perspective it looks like US "spent the last 24 years shitting the bed" while enabling this behavior. Again, people who made these decisions are not held accountable.

Fuck china and all but poor leadership is primary reason why we are here... with china being a bad faith actor being no 2.

kitnaht , to retrocomputing in Japan declares victory in effort to end government use of floppy disks

They're moving to CD-ROM!

girlfreddy , to retrocomputing in Japan declares victory in effort to end government use of floppy disks
@girlfreddy@lemmy.ca avatar
kevindqc , to Technology in Japan declares victory in effort to end government use of floppy disks

How can they get anything done? 1.44MB is very little nowadays. Imagine having to split up a word document into dozens of floppy disks.

lemmyvore ,

What would they use Word for? This is about submitting data in their own standard formats in tiny files.

The real crime is that they're not switching to online. Using optical discs is going to be even more ridiculous for those tiny files.

kevindqc ,

Ah that makes more sense, the article didn't mention what was stored on them unless I missed it

motor_spirit ,

I've got .rar file parts of FRIENDS episodes strewn across thousands of floppies, it's a way to give your life meaning during the end times

partial_accumen , to World News in China issues rare earth regulations to further protect domestic supply

And just to remind people. "Rare Earth" materials aren't actually rare. They're common. However, they are distributed in very very low concentrations, so you have to go throw mountains worth of material to extract measurable amounts of Rare Earth materials. This is typically energy intensive and ecologically destructive, which in most of the work equals "expensive" which is why the nations of the world have been happy to shut down their own Rare Earth extractions facilities any paying China to destroy its ecology instead.

China is free to set up its restrictions on exports. Other nations are free to restart their own extraction operations (with the costs that come with it).

FiniteBanjo OP ,

Well, China hasn't been the only producer in recent decades.

partial_accumen ,

That is a true statement. However, as the article points out they produce 90% of the world's supply of Rare Earth materials.

FiniteBanjo OP ,

Sales aren't everything. China has ~44M Metric Tons of REE reserves, Vietnam 22M, Russia 21M, Brazil 21M, India 6.9M, Australia 4.2M, USA 2.4M, Greenland 1.5M.

However, specific metals out of the 17 have wildly different graphs, such as Palladium commonly used in military armored plating being produced mostly in Russia and South Africa. USA produces many times over as much Palladium as China reports.

If China's domestic use concerns are actually for military use then that's troublesome because the metals they have are more useful for automation and electronics than anything else.

user134450 ,

Palladium

since when is Palladium a REE?

FiniteBanjo OP ,

You're right mb, I was confusing it with another element starting with P, like Pr or Pm, lol

FiniteBanjo OP , to World News in China issues rare earth regulations to further protect domestic supply

This effectively makes all minerals the state's property and prevents commerce with other nations who specialize in heavy machinery or electronics including: USA, UK, EU, SK, and Japan.

sunzu ,

prevents commerce with other nations who specialize in heavy machinery or electronics

how

FiniteBanjo OP ,

Previously, Beijing already started enforcing a ban on exports of REE and related technology exports.

The new regulations include a strict database on REEs outlining when and where they were extracted all the way to where they're exported. The laws stipulate that "no organization or person may encroach on or destroy rare-earth resources."

sunzu ,

So they limited supply to our industrial base?

Aint this something that WTO would handle?

FiniteBanjo OP ,

A bit off topic about who is supposed to handle it, but tbh I don't expect trade relations can get any worse with China even as a result of them banning exports of these. Certainly isn't going to get better.

sunzu ,

I don't see how that is off-topic. If we are having a trade issue, WTO should rule on it so every body knows what is "right"

More preferable to this escalation circle jerk IMHO.

Either way, if do chose this route, then we should call out people who blundered decades of industrial policy that got us here then.

FiniteBanjo OP ,

I explained what China was doing, you asked for elaboration, I elaborated, and then you responded "but but but what about all those other countries?"

That's off topic.

sunzu ,

This is a discussion. China behavior is part of the bigger picture.

Are you here just to plug a specific narrative?

My point mainly is why US allowed this to happened, how US got here, and is this not WTO issue, which you are very carefully tip toeing around tho

FiniteBanjo , to World News in EU governments hesitant on Chinese EV tariffs as trade spat escalates

Don't hesitate, fuck em. They want to remove competition by selling at a cost? They can go ahead and sell to India.

FiniteBanjo , to World News in German car industry urges EU to drop tariffs on China-made cars

I'm afraid China hasn't been playing fairly in the markets by producing certain goods at a cost to remove competition. It's going to get even worse after the state just declared all mineral rights belong solely to the nation.

whotookkarl , (edited ) to World News in Hurricane Beryl takes aim at Jamaica as death toll creeps up, destruction widespread
@whotookkarl@lemmy.world avatar

Apparently category four winds are so extreme they uproot or snap most trees isolating affected areas and preventing first responders from being able to access the area after it's passed.

gaylord_fartmaster , to Technology in Japan declares victory in effort to end government use of floppy disks

lol Japan invents the three major optical disc storage mediums that became ubiquitous and their government says fuck that and just keeps on using floppy disks

frightful_hobgoblin ,

they invented those too afaik

fluckx ,

At least the floppy fits in a standard envelope ( as long ad we're talking about the 3.5" )

avidamoeba , to World News in German car industry urges EU to drop tariffs on China-made cars
@avidamoeba@lemmy.ca avatar

Recall, to VAG's major shareholders, it doesn't matter where a VW is made since they would always collect and distribute the profit from its sale. To auto workers and their local communities on the other hand, it makes dramatic difference whether the VWs on their streets were made close by, or a continent away.

maynarkh ,

Close by meaning in Eastern Europe btw.

German car maker lobby has been propping up Orbán since 2010.

saltesc , to World News in German car industry urges EU to drop tariffs on China-made cars

But why? Isn't that their capitalism at work? If they are good, people will buy them. If they are not, then German manufacturers have nothing to worry about. Heaven forbid a free market act as initially intended, balancing out to reward manufacturers that perform well and consumers with competition driven high quality at reasonable prices.

It's a bitch, aint it? Some times that Community Chest card ruins your whole Monopoly game.

Oh, wait... Lobbyist card hidden under the board. That's the capitalism we all know and loathe.

ichbinjasokreativ ,

German car makers do not want tariffs on chinese made cars, because they entered partnerships with them.

555_1 ,
Cheradenine ,

It's kind of impressive that you skipped the 'didn't read the article before I posted' and went to 'didn't read the post title before I posted'. That's innovative.

Illuminostro , to United States | News & Politics in US Supreme Court rules Trump has immunity for official, not private acts

Are we ready for guillotines yet, fellow peasants?

afraid_of_zombies , to News in Scientists wary of bird flu pandemic 'unfolding in slow motion'

I am very much concerned about this issue. Let me throw paint on Stonehedge that way others will be concerned about this issue.

EatATaco ,

Unwittingly you're proving their methods worked, because you're still talking about them.

RememberTheApollo_ , to News in US Supreme Court rules Trump has immunity for official, not private acts

He could “officially” shoot someone on 5th Ave.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • random
  • test
  • worldmews
  • mews
  • All magazines