Brazil pivots towards rare earth nationalism

A bill approved by Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies this week tackles some of the key impediments to (currently minimal) rare earths extraction. However, the bill gives the government significant control over foreign investment and firms’ ability to export, which could limit development of the sector. Overall, we think Brazil could become a mid-sized producer of rare earths, although this will take time and Brazil is unlikely to break China’s stranglehold on the sector.