Economist Ding Yifang told Brasil de Fato that China’s retaliation played a role in the reduction of Chinese exports to the US. “China reinforced control over the export of rare earths to the US, which caused many problems in the US manufacturing industry, especially the automotive industry,” explains Ding, who is a senior researcher at the Taihe Institute.

The other Western states seem to be rolling over by policy choice, rather than having no realistic choices.