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58 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2025 5. "Placement and Average Interconnection Lengths of Computer Logic," by W. Donath. IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems, No. 4, 1979, pp. 272–277. 6. "How Big Should a Printed Circuit Board Be?" by S. Sutherland, and D. Oestreicher. IEEE Transactions on Computers, Vol. C-22, No. 5, May 1973, pp. 537–542. 7. "Electronic System Packaging: The Search for Manufacturing the Optimum in a Sea of Con- straints," by L. Moresco, IEEE Transactions on Components, Hybrids and Manufacturing Technology, Vol. 13, 1990, pp. 494–508. 8. "Predicting HDI Design Density," by Happy Holden, and R. Charbonneau. The Board Authority, Vol. 2, No.1, April 2000. 9. "Happy Thoughts: Calculating Your Fabri- cation Capability Coefficients," by Happy Holden, CircuiTree, Feb. 2006. Happy Holden has worked in printed circuit technology since 1970 with Hewlett-Packard, NanYa Westwood, Merix, Foxconn, and Gentex. He is a contributing technical editor with I-Connect007, and the author of Automation and Advanced Procedures in PCB Fabrication, and 24 Essential Skills for Engineers. To read past columns, click here. Rare earth element exports from China to the U.S. rose by 660% monthly, according to information re- leased by Beijing's General Administration of Cus- toms, MSN reported. In June, total shipments to the U.S. rose to 353 metric tons, following a negotiated trade agreement between Beijing and Washington in May. Both coun- tries agreed to reduce tariffs on each other for an additional 90 days. Part of that agreement includes China delivering more rare earth elements used in high-tech prod- ucts, including smartphones, jet engines, EVs, and wind turbines, which it had placed restrictions on for the U.S. in April. Beijing has a stranglehold on the production of rare-earth magnets, with around 90% of the market, as well as a similar hold on the refining of rare-earth elements. China exported 3,188 metric tons of rare earth permanent magnets globally last month, up nearly 160% from May, but 38% lower compared with the same period last year. Nvidia announced on July 14 that it plans to re- sume shipments of its H20 AI chips to China soon. In May, there were also rollbacks of controls on Ameri- can AI chip software companies' business in China. Chinese rare-earth magnet producers announced the approval of export licenses last month, which will help many companies suffering from magnet short- ages because of the lengthy time required to se- cure export licenses. Among those affected are Elon Musk's Tesla Optimus humanoid robots. According to CNBC, one way that the U.S. has been trying to compensate for the lack of rare-earth magnets is through increased recycling. On July 15, Apple and MP Materials announced a $500 million deal to develop a recycling facility that will reinforce the iPhone maker's U.S. magnet supply chain. (Source: I-Connect007 Editorial Team and media reports) China's Rare Earth Exports to U.S. Surge 660% After Trade Agreement