For niobium, for things like rare earths—which is, I think, what most people focus on, certainly what the media has focused on—the risks are simply that for some of these metals, China not only controls the market but has virtually a monopoly control of the market and has engaged in price manipulation, has engaged in using its market as a trade cudgel with, most recently, the United States but other countries as well. Japan had a problem with China for a while. Its lock on certain minerals makes western industrial processes entirely dependent on it.
