News Analysis What emerged as a potential weapon the Chinese regime could employ during the heights of the trade tensions with the Trump administration appears to have more teeth now as reports of looking into restricting exports of rare-earth elements and their refining technology have surfaced. China accounts for over 60 percent of global production and Canada could suffer if it also became a target for any cutbacks on exports. “We are, in many respects, beholden to China for a number of these rare-earths products, and the impacts of not being able to access them could be both direct and indirect,” Brendan Marshall, vice president for economic and northern affairs with the Mining Association of Canada (MAC), told The Epoch Times.  Rare earths are 17 metals that aren’t actually rare, but are difficult to extract efficiently in large quantities due to their small concentrations in ore deposits. Many modern products …