General Motors (GM) announced that it has reached an agreement with the American company Noveon Magnetics, based in Texas, to secure the supply of rare earth materials for its pick-ups and SUVs, thereby reducing its dependence on foreign companies.
It is worth noting that China controls over 90% of the global rare earth processing capacity and imposed new export licensing rules in April, restricting supply to Western manufacturers.
Thus, American automakers, especially electric vehicle manufacturers, are among the largest industrial consumers of rare earth materials.
The new agreement with Noveon Magnetics joins two others already announced by GM aimed at acquiring rare earth materials from U.S. suppliers, avoiding imports of this raw material.
Although the Chinese government has eased supply restrictions after reaching a trade agreement with the administration of Donald Trump, Washington continues to push for increased domestic production to reduce dependence on China, having even acquired a stake in MP Materials through the Pentagon.
