Washington

Beijing Calls Washington’s Bluff on Strategic Metals

Published

1 year ago

January 2, 2025

Beijing Calls Washington’s Bluff on Strategic Metals

January 2, 2025

China’s latest export restriction lays bare the complex geopolitics behind President Trump’s proposed tariffs—and the green energy transition.

Minerals displayed at the showroom of a battery recycling plant in Wuhan, China, in 2023.(Qilai Shen / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Earlier this December, the Chinese government announced that it would curb the export of several key industrial minerals, as well as certain types of graphite. The move came in the context of mounting pressure on China from Washington, and in anticipation of stringent tariffs that Donald J. Trump has promised to levy when he returns to the presidency next year.

Chinese government spokespeople have argued that curbing export of these minerals is in line with their government’s antiproliferation efforts. They have said that the materials are “dual use,” and that they might be used in manufacturing weapons. Officials in the United States have historically also argued the same thing about some of the minerals, such as graphite, which the US put under strict export controls in 2006.

Among the minerals are antimony (which is used in night-vision goggles and bullets), gallium (precision-guided weapons and radar systems), and germanium (powerful sensors that are mounted on tanks, ships and helicopters). Superhard metals like tungsten may also be included in the restrictions, as is graphite, a type of carbon familiar from its use in pencils. Certain types of graphite are used in gun barrels, and others are dispersed on the battlefield as a sort of smoke that confuses electromagnetic wave detection devices.

Most of these materials also have considerable civilian uses. For instance, graphite is used in the anodes, or negative electrodes, of almost all lithium-ion batteries. (If you’re reading this article on a battery-powered device, you’re probably using graphite in some form.) What export controls mean is that non-Chinese companies that use the material in products destined for the United States will have to apply for export licenses. Such licenses will be up to Chinese officials to grant or withhold.

China controls the vast majority of the processing of some of these materials—a fact that began to register widely in Washington only as tensions began to ramp up with China during the previous Trump administration. China, for instance, produces 61 percent of natural graphite and 98 percent of the world’s final processed graphite. Graphite is also a key material in the green energy transition and electric vehicles: Last year, some 50 percent of the world’s natural graphite went into electric vehicles.

Beijing has managed to extend its grip across the supply chain in recent years. Efforts have been made—most notably through Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act—to create a supply chain for critical minerals that is independent of China, as well as the development of new technology that reduces the need for hard-to-get materials. But progress has been slow. “China is still set to be the dominant player,” said Tony Alderson, the senior anode and cathode analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a specialist provider of supply chain and energy transition information. “I think the investment that they are putting in is huge, and it is more than the US with regard to the anode supply chain.” Despite paeans to progress from politicians in Europe and the US, 2024, he said, was “the year of delays,” and a widening gap between supply and demand for critical minerals in everywhere but China.

Current Issue

Cover of January 2025 Issue

By banning the export of these minerals, the Chinese government is showing that it has leverage over critical parts of the supply chain for electronics. “We see it in the industry as a shot across the bow,” Michael R. Hollomon II, the commercial director at US Strategic Metals, a mining and processing firm focused on green transition materials, told me. He noted that the Chinese have enacted similar bans of critical minerals in the past, including a ban last year of specific gallium and germanium products. “The Chinese government have put their money where their mouth is.”

Markets have reacted to the news of the most recent reductions: The price of antimony surged 40 percent on news of China’s most recent export curbs. It was something that worried Gary Evans, the CEO of US Antimony Corporation, the only domestic processor of antimony. Evans, speaking on Fox Business, worried that high prices would cause businesses to be priced out of the market.

Hollomon said that the Biden administration had often talked about building a supply chain independent from China, but that promised projects were often not followed through on, and that funding was held up at critical stages. China, on the other hand, has been able to fund projects and drive down costs for Chinese firms through massive injections of state capital into the mining, processing and industrial use of critical metals and transition technology. “We’ve been playing with our hands tied behind our backs—that is the way the West has been operating for the last 15 years,” he said.

But there is a more fundamental question at play as well. The United States traditionally limited technology transfers to China because of copyright concerns: This year, President Biden imposed an 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. The US government recently prepared restrictions on the import of AI technology into China (Beijing responded with an antitrust investigation into the US chip giant Nvidia), and Washington has been talking about “decoupling” from China for the last several years. In 2022, the US Department of Defense even released a 74-page report on “securing” the supply chain for materials used in military hardware. Chinese graphite is already subject to a 25 percent tariff in the US. (Last Wednesday, a North American trade association of active anode material producers asserted that such a tariff was “far too low” and asked the US government to levy a 920 percent tariff on Chinese graphite imports, a move that would double the cost of an electric vehicle Stateside.) Why would China help the United States build a supply chain that subverts its own interests and diminishes market share for Chinese companies?

In the critical metals and renewable energy space, there is growing apprehension over the use of tariffs in a part of the world economy in which China has become king. “To me,” Trump has said, “the most beautiful word in the dictionary is ‘tariff.’” He has even suggested he would impose tariffs of up to 60 percent on Chinese goods. But while Washington seems to think of tariffs as a one-way street, China’s most recent show of force shows that Beijing has considerable leverage, especially when it comes to materials that are used in electric devices and vehicles.

In the end of the day, costs from tariffs usually get passed on to the consumer. Trump, who used fears of inflation to galvanize his base during the last election, will be wary of policies that cause too many shifts in prices. Antimony, after all, is not just in bullets; it is used as a flame retardant in roofing across the US.

Perhaps rising costs will mean the next administration will be more amenable to striking a deal with China’s premier, Xi Jinping, an autocratic leader Trump reportedly admires. Elon Musk’s ties to China—around a half of Teslas are produced there, and the country is said to be the world’s second-largest market for the electric cars—might also complicate things. But that won’t solve the pressing issue of China’s domination of the supply chain for critical raw materials.

Industry players like Hollomon believe the incoming administration has the chance to spur domestic mining and processing through grants and streamlining regulations and building up the nation’s strategic reserve of minerals, many of which were sold off after the Cold War. But the outlook is also worrisome: increased tariffs have historically lead to retrenchment and stockpiling, which have tended to be ingredients in conflict. Even if such fears remain distant for now, a China in which the materials processing and battery industries are two bright spots in an otherwise bleak economic landscape is not likely to cede its primacy in those spaces any time soon.

Nicolas Niarchos

Nicolas Niarchos is a journalist whose work focuses on conflicts, minerals, and migration. A former Nation intern, his work has been published in The New Yorker, The Guardian, and The Independent. He is currently working on a book about cobalt mining.

Where Texas became Texas: Washington-on-the-Brazos plans July 4 celebrations

Published

8 hours ago

July 2, 2026

Press Room

Where Texas became Texas: Washington-on-the-Brazos plans July 4 celebrations

NAVASOTA, Texas (KBTX) – For many Texans, the Fourth of July is about fireworks and family cookouts. At Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site, it’s also about standing where Texas’ own independence story began, and marking a milestone in how the Lone Star State became part of the nation it celebrates.

The Texas historic site, set on 293 acres of parkland along the Brazos River, is known as “Where Texas Became Texas.” It is the place where 59 delegates met and signed the Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836, launching what would become the Republic of Texas.

From 1836 to 1846, Texas existed as a separate nation, before the question of annexation came to the forefront. Site staff say Washington-on-the-Brazos offers a “bookended” look at the Republic’s decade-long history because discussions about joining the United States also took place there and were ultimately voted on in the property.

This year’s July 4 programming is designed to connect those chapters of Texas history with the national holiday, including a commemoration tied directly to the Lone Star being added to the American flag.

“This is also the 180th anniversary of when Texas was added to the American flag,” said Chandler Wahrmund, assistant site manager for the Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site, which is part of the broader Republic of Texas Complex.

A historic site with multiple stops

Washington-on-the-Brazos includes several major attractions:

Visitor Center: The recommended starting point for guests. It features interactive exhibits presenting a timeline of the Texas Revolution and includes the Museum Store, with snacks and Texas-themed items. The Visitor Center is free and is where visitors can gather information and purchase entry tickets for the site’s paid attractions.
Independence Hall: A replica building that sits on the spot where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed, allowing visitors to visualize where that pivotal moment unfolded.
Star of the Republic Museum: A central museum on the grounds focused on the Republic era.
Barrington Living History Farm: A living-history area that interprets life in the Republic of Texas period through demonstrations and activities.

The historic site is also the core of the Republic of Texas Complex, which includes Fanthorp Inn, a preserved 19th-century stagecoach inn in nearby Anderson.

July 4 events across the grounds

Staff say this year’s July 4 celebration will include activities happening throughout the site, with scheduled programs at key times.

According to site staff, the day includes:

Flag raising ceremony at 11 a.m.
Readings of the American Declaration of Independence at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Star of the Republic Museum cockade-making, creating patriotic lapel decorations
Barrington Living History Farm games, including trap ball, a precursor to baseball
Townsite activities at Hatfield’s Exchange, a recreated high-class bar from the period, with lemonade and other period-inspired nonalcoholic drinks for visitors

Wahrmund said the day is a chance to revisit the country’s founding words, and understand why they still matter.

“I love to read the words of Thomas Jefferson on the day, July 4th, to really understand why we exist as a nation,” he said.

Hours and admission

Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site will be open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on July 4, and admission is free all day.

Source link

Washington

Where can you watch fireworks in Washington DC on the Fourth of July?

Published

18 hours ago

July 1, 2026

Press Room

Where can you watch fireworks in Washington DC on the Fourth of July?

With 150,000 people expected to attend Saturday’s Fourth of July festivities on the National Mall in Washington DC, locals and tourists alike may be looking for alternative options to view fireworks on America’s 250th birthday.

Washington DC will offer a secondary firework show on the 4th, and there will be plenty of areas in the city and surrounding neighborhoods to catch the big firework display at the National Mall.

Here’s a look at some of the best places to watch the July 4 fireworks in Washington DC.

Where can you watch fireworks in Washington DC on July 4th?

The National Mall will be the most popular area to watch fireworks, with President Donald Trump promising “the largest fireworks show in history.” Officials say 850,000 firework shells will be launched, potentially breaking a Guinness World Record.

But you don’t need to be at the crowded mall and its strict security measures in order to watch the display.

The organizers of the firework show, Freedom 250, say there will also be viewing spots at Hains Point, Columbia Marina, Gravelly Point, RFK Stadium, Meridian Hill Park, Union Station, Lower Senate Park and Upper Senate Park.

Other popular areas to watch the fireworks include the Cardozo Education Campus in Columbia Heights, the Washington National Cathedral in northwest DC, Lady Bird Johnson Park off the Potomac River and the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court Building on Capitol Hill.

Washington DC officials have also released an interactive map that allows you to see your view of the fireworks from any place in the city.

Are there any other fireworks shows in Washington DC on July 4th?

Anacostia Park will serve as the viewing area for a separate fireworks display that will be concurrent with the National Mall fireworks, which are expected to begin at 11 p.m.

DC officials say you can enter the park through Marion Barry Ave. SE, Nicholson St. SE or the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail near the Skate Pavilion.

The event is free to the public, as is the National Mall’s show.

Source link

Washington

Colorado Democrats punish Washington ties in primaries

Published

1 day ago

July 1, 2026

Press Room

Colorado Democrats punish Washington ties in primaries

After DSA candidates roiled traditional Democrats with wins in New York City last week, Tuesday’s primary in a Denver-centered district tested whether the left wing’s appeal could prevail elsewhere.

It turns out the democratic socialists’ reach extends well beyond New York — and it may well grow before the year is out.

Melat Kiros, backed by the national Democratic Socialists of America and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, upset Rep. Diana DeGette, who has held her reliably blue seat for almost 30 years.

“What we’re seeing right now is the response to voters feeling like the party has not actually been fighting for working people,” Kiros told MS NOW last week.

The result is that Kiros, a critic of the Israeli government and high-ranking Democratic leaders, will likely be a member of Congress come next year. That happened even as DeGette cast the race as a warning, with President Donald Trump’s second term continuing to upend governance from the nation’s capital.

“Now is not the time to gamble and send somebody with no experience to Washington,” DeGette said during a recent candidate forum. “We need a strong, bold, hardened leader who will hold Trump accountable.”

The result was one of several Colorado results Tuesday to test incumbents or prominent statewide officials navigating a turbulent moment in Democratic politics — one in which voters have shown an appetite for untested fighters over familiar faces who’ve served in Washington’s halls of power.

The night’s theme wasn’t clear-cut; the three marquee races diverged on everything from ideology to questions of approach and clout. But each pitted an incumbent whose Congressional ties became fodder for a challenger.

In 2020, Democrats’ ability to woo former Gov. John Hickenlooper into the Senate race was seen as a boon for a party trying to unseat incumbent GOP Sen. Cory Gardner, one of the last Republicans left representing a blue state in the Senate. That move came after Hickenlooper’s 2020 presidential primary campaign fizzled. Even so, he faced a somewhat-competitive primary that year, taking 58.7% to his challenger’s 41.3%. Hickenlooper went on to win the seat that November by a little over nine points.