US wants to end reliance on rare earths from China – Yellen

by Andrea Shalal

SEOUL, July 18 (Reuters) – The United States wants to end its “overreliance” on rare earths, solar panels and other key products from China to avoid Beijing cutting off its supplies as the city has done with other countries before, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

Janet Yellen, who arrived in Seoul late Monday, told Reuters she was encouraging stronger trade ties with South Korea and other trusted allies to improve the resilience of supply chains. and avoid possible manipulation by geopolitical rivals.

The Treasury Secretary will outline her concerns during a major policy speech in Seoul on Tuesday, after touring the facilities of South Korean tech heavyweight LG.

According to excerpts from her speech, Janet Yellen will advocate for “friend-shoring”, i.e. diversifying US supply chains to rely more on trusted business partners, a measure which she said would help fight inflation and counter China’s “unfair trade practices”.

South Korea has “tremendous assets in terms of resources, technology, capabilities” and its companies, including LG, are already investing in the United States, she said.

Despite her strong words, Janet Yellen said relations with China were not “totally negative or escalating into terribly hostile territory.”

China is listening to U.S. concerns in other areas and has made some constructive gestures on debt restructuring for low-income countries, she added.

“We have real concerns about China and we are bringing them forward, but I don’t want to give the impression of an escalation of hostilities with China.” (Reporting Andrea Shalal; French version Charlotte Lavin, editing by Kate Entringer)