in lnternationar trade. The recurring poriticar rifts and social upheavars amongthe mineral-export ing developing countries have irnparted an erement of uncertaintyabout uninlerrupted suppL ies among several importing countries. Althoughenergy-related imports have generally been considered rnost dranatic, there are atleast a dozen other minerals for which the inport-d ependency is nrcre or resscritical (table 5). A 15 to 20 per cent cut in their suppries cour.d have serrouseffects on the inport i'ng econoni.es by creating stagnation or reducing production.After conparing the degree of dependlncy of sJven nnjor counCries, nanely, theUnited States, the Soviet Union, France, the Federal RepubLic of Cie rmany, theUnited Kingdon, ,Japan and Orina, a recent study covering the years l9Z3 to lg7glisted the foll0wing minerals as nost likely to reduce the gross national productsof the inporting countries in conditions of shortage: non-[ptallic tltanium,Platinuar cobalt, tin, chromiurn, aruminiurn, copper, sirver, nicker and tungsten. 34l 69- rn dra$ing inferences frorn such serected surveys, hc&rever, it is important toretnenber that the degree of dependence varies even anong the above-nentionedcountries to the extent that their national reserves and techno.rogy provide reliefthrough substitution' recycring and stockpiringt it also varies wilh the degree towhich lhe demand can be controlled to oftlet the suppry constraints. Both thesefeatures provide the un ited states, Lhe soviet union and china with a certaindegree of immunity against sudden interruptions of supplies in the inneariatefuture. Nelther, however. rnitigates the centratity oi irport_aependency forWestern Europe and Japan. Japan's very low nilitary .*p.nditur.-pe. "uiitu and ltstotal absence frorn the supply side of internationar arms transfersrJ it in acategory by itself. But the denand side of minerar exports and tbe supply siale ofarms inports in the 1970s have produced a strong parallerism. rn seveial cases,the recipients of exotic rni.litary hardware .*onf th" developing countries arsoh appen to be the suppliers of important strategic minerals lo lhe developeacountries. sheer coincidence cannot explain the increasing sophrstication, thetotal volune, or the concessional terns of transfer given !o ,""porr" lmportersanong,those devel.ping regions which arso happen to either possess size-artedeposits of known strategic mineral .""".rr."--o, are geographically conliguous tothem.
**Analysis**
The text discusses the impact of mineral export dependencies on importing countries, highlighting the uncertainty and potential consequences of supply disruptions. It also touches on the relationship between mineral exports and arms transfers, as well as the strategic importance of certain minerals. This suggests that the text is primarily focused on the economic and international aspects of mineral trade, rather than environmental, social, or cultural issues.

**Category**
International trade, Natural resources and environment