It's not being publicly advertised, but access to rare earths is playing an outsized role in resurgent U.S.-China trade tensions. Following last month's détente in Geneva, it was apparently agreed that both sides would roll back retaliatory tariffs imposed since April 2,

Last month, President Donald Trump said the United States needed Greenland “very badly,” renewing his threat to annex the Danish territory. Greenland is a resource-rich island with a plentiful supply of critical minerals, a category that also includes rare earths elements, under its ice sheet. Trump also signed a “ rare earth deal ” with Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff decisions since he took office on January 20 have shocked financial markets and sent a wave of uncertainty through the global economy.