China dominates the world‘s production and processing of rare earth elements, which are used in all kinds of things: sports equipment, national defense, and each of the roughly 16 million cars sold in the US every year. Over the last few years, the Asian country has been tightening access and suddenly restricted exports in early April 2025. The move sent shockwaves through the auto industry which can’t build cars without these minerals. CNBC Dove in to see how we got here, and how the auto industry might find its way out.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:47 Chapter 1: Rare earth elements
03:17 Chapter 2: A global powerhouse
05:28 Chapter 3: Relief
07:33 Chapter 4: Solutions

Producer: Robert Ferris
Editor: Darren Geeter
Animation: Emily Park, Mithra Krishnan
Senior Managing Producer: Tala Hadavi
Additional footage: Getty Images, Toyota

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How China Proved It Can Shut Down Global Auto Production

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