Top officials from America and China don agree on Tuesday say dem go try reduce wahala wey dey for trade matter as dem wan soften di effect of di tariffs wey US President Donald Trump put. One big topic wey dem discuss na di rare-earth elements.

Car makers from Japan, India, Europe, and North America don dey shout say di shortage of magnets wey dem dey use for many parts like side mirrors and sensors dey worry dem. Di magnets na from rare-earth elements dem dey make am.

Di shortage wey don make companies like Suzuki Motors dey fear, na because of di 'restrictions' wey China put for di export of rare-earth products. Some international news dey call di Chinese move 'curbs', 'controls', and some even call am 'ban'. But wetin really happen dey somewhere for middle.

China no stop di export totally. Wetin dem do be say dem introduce one licensing system wey companies go apply to government before dem fit get di magnets wey everybody dey find.

China dey control almost 90 percent of di rare-earth supply chain, and na dem dey produce di strong magnets wey dem dey use for things like phone and wind turbines.

Julie Klinger, wey write di book 'Rare Earth Frontiers: From Terrestrial Subsoils to Lunar Landscapes', talk say di way people dey call di matter 'ban' dey make am sound more serious. She talk say na di same way people dey call di elements 'rare-earths' instead of di real names like lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, and neodymium.

Experts don dey talk say di name 'rare' no really fit di elements because dem no too scarce. Di elements dey for di lanthanide series wey dey bottom of di periodic table, and more than 800 places for di world get mineable deposits of rare-earth elements.

Di wahala be say di elements dey small-small for ground with other minerals like iron or phosphates, and e dey hard to separate dem. Klinger, wey be associate professor for University of Delaware, explain say di difference between outright ban and other reasons wey fit cause shortage dey important to avoid more wahala for di global economy wey tariffs and trade restrictions don already affect.

Fifteen years ago, di fear say China dey control di global rare-earth supply don make Western media and politicians dey worry. For September 2010, Japanese coastguards arrest one Chinese fisherman near di Diaoyu Islands for East China Sea. Japan talk say di fisherman ram him boat into one of dia coastguard vessels, but China talk say di man just wan catch fish for di area.

Di matter cause wahala wey affect wind turbine and hybrid battery manufacturers. Klinger write for her book say some Chinese officials for one port stop shipment of goods to Japan, and di containers wey dem hold include rare-earth elements. Reports of di 'embargo' make prices rise well-well.

Similar thing happen for April dis year when China introduce di licensing requirement for rare-earth magnets export, just days after US increase tariffs on Chinese goods. Di two countries dey inside trade war, and US don also put licensing requirement for American chip makers to block di sale of high-end semiconductors to Chinese companies.

Klinger talk say di way people dey call di matter 'ban' dey benefit some business interests and dey make investors and public dey focus on di sector. But she also remind people say na US economic policy help China dominate di rare-earth market.

Since di 1950s, Chinese leaders don dey focus on building factories and bringing production from other parts of di world. Di effort increase for di 1980s when US President Ronald Reagan and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher promote liberal economic policies wey make Western companies move production to China because labour cheap and environmental rules no too strict.

Di high environmental cost of rare-earth production na one reason why China dey lead for di industry. Rare earths dey come out with radioactive material wey dey expensive to dispose of properly. Apart from mining and refining, China dey also produce almost all di high-powered magnets wey America dey use for things like F-35 Lightning jets.

Even though rare-earth elements dey important, di global magnets market na only $12 billion, according to IMARC, one consulting firm. Dis na because di magnets dey used in small quantities for things like cars, phones, and jets.

As di world dey hope say rare-earth supply no go get problem with US and Chinese officials dey hold talks, Klinger talk say she go wait, gather facts, and then decide if Beijing really stop di trade of di minerals.

“I go just dey watch and see,” she talk. “I dey guess say, like di 2010 situation, we go find say yes, some things happen, but e no reach di level wey people dey talk. And exports from China still continue, and for some cases, even increase.”