Rare Earth Supply Chain Disruptions: Impacts to the High-Tech Industry

The Russia and Ukraine war has negatively impacted the US-European rare earth metals and minerals supply chain. Amid several sanctions on Russia, the UK government has also announced its plans to revoke the status of the Moscow stock exchange as a recognized stock exchange. While this greatly limits Russia’s private sector from raising funds from foreign European investors, it also impacts future production, mining of minerals, rare earth metals among other impacts. With a lot of rare earth imports coming from Russia, the ongoing war has also affected Europe’s attempts to reduce its commodity reliance on China. The sanctions have left Europe no choice but to source from China as a short-term solution. Furthermore, the EU has proposed a new plan to identify, fast-track alternative suppliers, and develop its rare earth materials capabilities.