Deals with Malaysia and Thailand may one day give Washington leverage in negotiations with Beijing, according to analysts.

The United States has ramped up efforts to hedge against rare earth export controls by China – the world’s dominant supplier – through agreements signed on Sunday with two Southeast Asian countries, including one that experts believe could deliver results relatively quickly. Memoranda of understanding with Malaysia and Thailand pave the way for increased critical mineral exports to US automotive, defence and hi-tech hardware manufacturers – following a US$8.5 billion US-Australia framework deal…

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