United Nations Advances Critical Minerals Tax Reform as China Dominates Rare Earth Processing

Highlights

• China controls roughly 70% of rare earth mining and over 85% of separation and refining capacity, per UNCTAD estimates.
• A Geneva consultation examined royalties, windfall taxes, transfer pricing, and domestic value addition for mineral-rich developing nations.
• The UN explicitly recognizes the need to preserve investment attractiveness, a key qualifier in resource-nationalism debates.
• Profit-based windfall taxes may better accommodate commodity cycles than flat royalties that cut margins regardless of profitability.
• Transparent taxation and infrastructure incentives could attract Western capital into African and Latin American processing hubs.