Build good external relations for steady supplies of critical materials

Serious doubts have now emerged in many countries regarding dependence on other countries for critical materials because it is not easy to develop alternate sources of supplies quickly

Last week, China and the United States (US) agreed essentially to take forward the mini-deal on tariffs agreed at Geneva last month and to go easy on export controls. For now, the anxieties about serious disruptions to the supply chains of critical materials for making several goods, including fighter jets, medical equipment, electric vehicles, etc, have lessened somewhat. Both countries are keeping their options on the way forward based on their own assessment on how far the other is willing to go to keep the supplies flowing.

 

Since 2018, the US has been imposing one restriction or the other on