{"id":57593,"date":"2025-07-24T20:39:36","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T20:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/export-controls-emerge-as-new-front-in-trade-conflict"},"modified":"2025-07-24T21:05:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T21:05:58","slug":"export-controls-emerge-as-new-front-in-trade-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/export-controls-emerge-as-new-front-in-trade-conflict","title":{"rendered":"Export Controls Emerge as New Front in Trade Conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mauritius. <\/strong><\/span>As global trade tensions rise, export controls have become a powerful new tool in geopolitical rivalry, limiting the movement of critical technologies, materials and services across borders in a push to prioritize domestic industries and exert political leverage.<\/p>\n

Countries are increasingly imposing restrictions on exports of sensitive goods such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) components, quantum computing systems and military-grade materials.<\/p>\n

While traditionally framed as national security measures, these controls are now being used as strategic weapons in ongoing tech and trade wars.<\/p>\n

“Export controls have been used as offensive weapons intended to degrade strategic competitors\u2019 abilities to advance military modernization for the last several years,\u201d Emily Benson, head of strategy at US-based Minerva Technology Futures, told Anadolu.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is new currently is the direct attachment of export controls to trade negotiations,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The latest example came after US President Donald Trump announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on April 2 targeting China. In response, Beijing suspended exports of rare earths and related magnets — a move that caused major supply shortages in Europe\u2019s auto industry, particularly affecting BMW and Mercedes-Benz.<\/p>\n

China controls around 70% of global rare earth production and 90% of global rare earth refining capacity, though only 34% of reserves are within its borders.<\/p>\n

That dominance remains a key strategic advantage as demand for rare earth elements is expected to rise 50%-60% by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency, driven by the growth of digital technologies, AI and green energy transitions.<\/p>\n

A temporary rare earth agreement reached between the US and China on June 11 provided limited relief but did not resolve broader concerns about long-term access to critical materials.<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s diversification strategy<\/b><\/p>\n

Japan has been working for over a decade to reduce its reliance on Chinese rare earths.<\/p>\n

Following a 2010 suspension of rare earth exports by Beijing during a diplomatic dispute, Tokyo launched a multi-pronged strategy through the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (Jogmec), investing more than $600 million in over 100 overseas projects.<\/p>\n

Jogmec\u2019s 2011 partnership with Australian firm Lynas Rare Earths created the world\u2019s largest rare earth producer outside China, which now supplies roughly one-third of Japan\u2019s rare earth imports.<\/p>\n

Japan has also turned to urban mining \u2014 extracting rare earths from electronic waste \u2014 and aims to establish 180-day reserves for key raw materials. Tokyo also plans to invest $1.5 billion in deep-sea mining by 2028.<\/p>\n

Innovation is also playing a role. Honda has developed neodymium magnets for hybrid vehicles that do not require heavy rare earths, while Japan\u2019s energy sector is investing $1.5 billion in perovskite solar cells to replace traditional silicon panels, with the goal of achieving capacity equal to 20 nuclear plants by 2040.<\/p>\n

\u2018Shifting landscape\u2019 for global firms<\/b><\/p>\n

Export controls are reshaping business strategy worldwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompanies continue to contend with a shifting landscape,\u201d said Benson. \u201cThis represents the use of export controls as a new form of leverage to seek concessions elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

She cited Nvidia\u2019s remarks that relaxed export rules to China could provide a strategic advantage to US firms.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther companies have been less vocal, likely favoring a \u2018wait-and-see\u2019 approach as the US-China trade relationship continues to evolve,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Benson noted that current policy still allows sophisticated exports, as long as they are not used for military purposes \u2014 a condition likely to remain. But that could change if more countries start producing dual-use AI technologies.<\/p>\n

Strategic outlook<\/b><\/p>\n

Mehmet Alpertunga Avci, a visiting scholar at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, said countries with rare earth processing capacity have a growing advantage over those relying on outdated protectionist measures.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnologically underdeveloped countries without rare earth elements should consider options like focusing on technologies requiring the least rare earth elements possible, trying to enter into trade-facilitating deals with exporting countries, establishing tech transfer\u2013based industrial clusters and introducing import tax incentives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He warned that rare earth-rich and tech-dominant countries may \u201cseek to expand control by limiting production, tying exports to certification standards and building vertically integrated supply chains.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese mutually exclusionary strategies will escalate global competition over rare earths,\u201d he added, \u201cmaking national policies more aggressive in the race for technological and economic dominance.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Mauritius<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mauritius. As global trade tensions rise, export controls have become a powerful new tool in geopolitical rivalry, limiting the movement of critical technologies, materials and services across borders in a push to prioritize domestic industries and exert political leverage. Countries are increasingly imposing restrictions on exports of sensitive goods such as semiconductors, artificial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":57592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[2981,2980,171,6485,1419,241,6486,6110,5547,1871],"class_list":["post-57593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-china","tag-emily-benson","tag-japan","tag-mauritius","tag-mehmet-alpertunga-avci","tag-rare-earths","tag-tariffs","tag-us"],"yoast_head":"\nExport Controls Emerge as New Front in Trade Conflict - Mauritius<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As global trade tensions rise, export controls have become a powerful new tool in geopolitical rivalry, limiting the mov ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/export-controls-emerge-as-new-front-in-trade-conflict\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Export Controls Emerge as New Front in Trade Conflict\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As global trade tensions rise, export controls have become a powerful new tool in geopolitical rivalry, limiting the mov ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/export-controls-emerge-as-new-front-in-trade-conflict\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mauritius\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-24T20:39:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-24T21:05:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/sites\/61\/2025\/07\/sm_1753374839.934985.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"864\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"486\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/export-controls-emerge-as-new-front-in-trade-conflict#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/export-controls-emerge-as-new-front-in-trade-conflict\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Export Controls Emerge as New Front in Trade Conflict\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-24T20:39:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-24T21:05:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/export-controls-emerge-as-new-front-in-trade-conflict\"},\"wordCount\":702,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/export-controls-emerge-as-new-front-in-trade-conflict#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/sites\/61\/2025\/07\/sm_1753374839.934985.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"AI\",\"Artificial Intelligence\",\"CHINA\",\"Emily Benson\",\"Japan\",\"Mauritius\",\"Mehmet Alpertunga Avci\",\"rare earths\",\"tariffs\",\"US\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/export-controls-emerge-as-new-front-in-trade-conflict#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/export-controls-emerge-as-new-front-in-trade-conflict\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/export-controls-emerge-as-new-front-in-trade-conflict\",\"name\":\"Export Controls Emerge as New Front in Trade Conflict - 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