Top White House officials are crafting policy to take on China and bolster the United States’ position over rare earths and critical minerals — a move meant to fulfill President Donald Trump’s vow Tuesday evening to take “historic action.”
“Later this week, I will also take historic action to dramatically expand production of critical minerals and rare earths here in the USA,” Trump told lawmakers during a joint session of Congress.
The administration is preparing an executive order to accelerate the nation’s production and processing of raw materials, including rare earths, according to a person working in the mining industry who is consulting with the White House on the forthcoming policy. The person said the order is “processing centric” but that it will also encompass extraction and manufacturing of raw materials, both up and downstream.
China currently dominates the global rare earth processing market, accounting for almost all of the world’s rare earth refining capacity. That reliance among the U.S. and its allies is now being tested as a global trade spat worsens and China moves to further restrict exports of minerals like antimony and technology to process minerals like graphite.
