新闻来源：Zero Hedge《零对冲》；作者：Tyler Durden；发布时间：October 1, 2020 / 2020年10月1日

翻译/简评：X-Wing；校对/审核：海阔天空 ；Page：拱卒

简评：

中共国在稀土矿产供应方面具全球主导地位。随着中美贸易战和两国关系不断紧张，美国意识到稀土作为战略物资的重要性以及对美国国家安全、外交和经济的危险，川普签署行政令，突显了美国对中共国稀土过分依赖的危险，宣布美国矿物产业进入国家紧急状态。

在地缘政治发生巨变的今天，川普政府的这一行政令具有指向性意义。美国清醒得慢，但还不是太晚。

原文翻译：

Trump Executive Order Seeks To Combat China's Rare-Earth Minerals Dominance

川普行政令寻求打击中共国稀土矿产的主导地位

On Wednesday President Trump signed an executive order which declared a "national emergency" in the US mining industry, highlighting America's dangerous overdependence on China for what's known as rare-earth minerals.

川普总统周三签署了一项行政命令，宣布美国矿物产业处于“国家紧急状态”，突显了美国过分依赖中共国稀土的危险。

China has been widely acknowledged as dominant in the rare-earth minerals market for decades, which includes a group of obscure minerals (typically 17 identified as such) often used in manufacturing anything from advanced electronics like flat screens to even weapons. For example, one of the most sought after - samarium cobalt - is used in precision guided missiles and fighter jets, and advanced communications systems.

几十年来，中共国已被公认为在稀土矿产市场上占主导地位，其中包括一些稀缺的矿物质（通常鉴定为17种），通常用于制造从平板显示器到武器甚至是先进电子产品的任何物品。例如，最受追捧的一种 - 钐钴被用于精密制导导弹和战斗机以及先进的通信系统。

The order says that “our Nation’s undue reliance on critical minerals, in processed or unprocessed form, from foreign adversaries constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.”

该行政令说：“我们国家过分依赖外国对手加工过的或未加工过的关键矿物质，这些材料主要来源于美国以外，对于美国国家安全、外交政策和美国经济构成了不寻常且非常大的威胁。我谨在此宣布全国紧急状态以应对这一威胁。”

China began cementing its global dominance in the 1980s after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency moved to severely restrict rare-earth mineral mining related to environmental concerns.

在核监管委员会和国际原子能机构采取行动严格限制与环境相关的稀土矿开采之后，中共国于1980年代开始巩固其全球主导地位。

They are deemed "rare" precisely because there are no known alternatives to them, and given they've been key in developing specific technologies preponderant among industrialized populations.

之所以将这些材料视为“稀有”，恰恰是因为它们没有已知的替代品，并且鉴于它们一直是工业化人口中占优势的特定技术的关键。

The order's text specifically charges that Beijing has intentionally exploited its position in the market, especially regarding 35 minerals that are “essential to the economic and national security of the United States”:

该行政令的文本特别指控北京有意利用其在市场上的地位，特别是针对“对美国的经济和国家安全至关重要的” 35种矿物：

Our dependence on one country, the People’s Republic of China (China), for multiple critical minerals is particularly concerning. The United States now imports 80 percent of its rare earth elements directly from China, with portions of the remainder indirectly sourced from China through other countries. In the 1980s, the United States produced more of these elements than any other country in the world, but China used aggressive economic practices to strategically flood the global market for rare earth elements and displace its competitors.

我们对多种关键矿物依赖于一个国家（中华人民共和国）感到担忧。美国现在直接从中共国进口80％的稀土材料，其余部分则通过其他国家间接地从中共国进口。在1980年代，美国生产的这些元素比世界上任何其他国家都多，但是中共国利用激进的经济做法战略性地涌入全球稀土材料市场，并取代了竞争对手。

As Reuters underscores, "While the United States used to be the leading producer of the minerals, China has used its heft in the industry to its advantage in the trade dispute between the two world leaders."

正如路透社强调的那样，“尽管美国曾经是主要的矿产生产国，但中共国却利用其在矿产方面的优势在两个大国的贸易争端中占了优势。”

No doubt this remains a crucial US vulnerability weakening Washington leverage amid Trump's ongoing trade dispute, as well as select sanctions on the mainland related to the Hong Kong issue and other geopolitical pressure spots.

毫无疑问，在川普持续的贸易争端以及与香港问题和其他地缘政治压力相关的对中共国内地的选择性制裁中，稀土仍然是美国关键的脆弱一环，从而削弱华盛顿的谈判砝码。

Just after Trump's signing the order, Ellen Lord, the top acquisition official at the Pentagon, told a Senate hearing “We are on a trajectory to increase our national defense stockpile relative to rare earth minerals. The silver lining of COVID has been that I think most Americans now understand the importance of having domestic supplies.”

在川普签署命令之后，五角大楼高级采购官员埃伦·洛德（Ellen Lord）在参议院听证会上说：“我们正着手增加稀土矿物质国防库存。我认为，COVID疫情带来的一线希望是，大多数美国人现在已经明白拥有国内稀土供应商的重要性。”

“We could certainly, especially under the auspices of the [executive order] that just came out yesterday, work with the interagency, because there is already a lot of work going on to look at expanding the national defense stockpile to include more rare earths,” she said in her Thursday remarks.

“我们当然可以，特别是在昨天刚刚出台的[行政命令]的支持下，进行跨机构合作，因为已经有很多工作在进行，以扩大国防储备，包括更多的稀土。”她在周四的讲话中说。

编辑：【喜马拉雅战鹰团】Edited by：【Himalaya Hawk Squad】