Opinion | Allies United Against China on Rare Earths

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday he plans to coordinate with allies to counter China’s weaponization of rare-earth minerals. It’s the right move, though he might find it easier to rally the world if President Trump weren’t also hitting our allies with unprovoked unilateral tariffs.

Mr. Bessent earlier in the week accused Beijing of pointing “a bazooka at the supply chains and the industrial base of the entire free world,” by threatening global export controls on products that contain even minuscule amounts of Chinese rare earths. He’s right. China has a stranglehold on these minerals, and it’s a serious problem.