America’s dangerous dependence on China for rare earth minerals — the essential building blocks for everything from fighter jets to smartphones — is not a coincidence. It is the inevitable result of decades of misguided policy decisions, regulatory paralysis, and a globalist mindset that surrendered critical industries to foreign adversaries. While China strategically built a near-monopoly by subsidizing production and slashing red tape, America shackled its own industries with endless permitting delays, environmental extremism, and wishful thinking about “free trade” in a world where our biggest competitor was playing by no rules at all.
By the early 2000s, China controlled over 90% of global rare earth production. They didn’t just mine the minerals — they cornered the critical downstream processing and manufacturing supply chains. America, once the leader, became a customer. A dependent. For decades, policymakers sat idle as China plotted to dominate industries critical to our national security.
Background: How We Lost the Lead
Back in the 1980s, America led the world in rare earth production, with Mountain Pass in California operating as the premier source. Then came the regulatory avalanche. Permitting for a new mining project in the United States routinely took 7 to 10 years, and in many cases, projects never even got off the ground. Environmental impact studies, endless layers of agency reviews, and “lawfare” from radical environmental groups weaponized litigation to block, delay, and destroy mining projects.
Between 1990 and 2020, the United States issued fewer than a handful of new mining permits for rare earths. Companies often didn’t even bother applying, knowing the costs, lawsuits, and bureaucratic delays would kill projects before a shovel ever touched dirt.
Meanwhile, China was executing a deliberate plan: flooding the market with cheap rare earths, subsidizing production, slashing environmental standards, and building refining plants at breakneck speed. Their strategy worked. America’s industrial base was hollowed out.
China Tightens the Screws: New Export Restrictions
Today, China is restricting exports of key rare earth materials to the United States. It’s a calculated move to weaponize their monopoly against us. By controlling access to materials essential for national defense, energy infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing, China has gained powerful leverage over American policymakers.
In effect, we handed Beijing the keys to our future technologies and military readiness. This is the price of decades of short-term profit-seeking and environmental radicalism overriding strategic national interests.
What We Must Do: A National Mobilization for Rare Earth Dominance
We must act — and act decisively! This is not a policy tweak. It is a full-scale economic mobilization, like building the Arsenal of Democracy during World War II.
Here’s the game plan:- Expedite Permitting
- Invest in Domestic Projects
- Build American Processing Capacity
- Strategic Stockpiling
- Streamline Environmental Reviews — Without Sacrificing Common Sense
- Forge International Alliances
Conclusion: Reclaiming Our Industrial Future
Make no mistake: This isn’t just about economics. It’s about national security. It’s about American sovereignty. It’s about protecting our freedom.
China’s dominance in rare earths was no accident. It was a strategy — executed ruthlessly. Now it’s our turn to be strategic. If we act boldly — if we act NOW — we can restore America’s rightful place as a mineral, manufacturing, and innovation powerhouse.
This is a second Sputnik moment. Our future — our freedom — depends on reclaiming control over the very building blocks of modern civilization.
As I always say: Free market capitalism is the best path to prosperity, but it needs a level playing field. That means no more being held hostage to China’s whims. Drill, mine, process — and most of all — LEAD.
The future belongs to the free and the brave — not the Communist Party of China.
Congress must act. Investors must act. Entrepreneurs must act. America must act.
Imagine an America once again supplying the world with the resources of the future — cleaner, stronger, freer. That future is within our grasp. Let’s seize it.
How We Got Here: China’s Rare Earth Monopoly and America’s Wake-Up Call
America’s dangerous dependence on China for rare earth minerals — the essential building blocks for everything from fighter jets to smartphones — is not a coincidence. It is the inevitable result of decades of misguided policy decisions, regulatory paralysis, and a globalist mindset that surrendered critical industries to foreign adversaries. While China strategically built a near-monopoly by subsidizing production and slashing red tape, America shackled its own industries with endless permitting delays, environmental extremism, and wishful thinking about “free trade” in a world where our biggest competitor was playing by no rules at all.
By the early 2000s, China controlled over 90% of global rare earth production. They didn’t just mine the minerals — they cornered the critical downstream processing and manufacturing supply chains. America, once the leader, became a customer. A dependent. For decades, policymakers sat idle as China plotted to dominate industries critical to our national security.
Background: How We Lost the Lead
Back in the 1980s, America led the world in rare earth production, with Mountain Pass in California operating as the premier source. Then came the regulatory avalanche. Permitting for a new mining project in the United States routinely took 7 to 10 years, and in many cases, projects never even got off the ground. Environmental impact studies, endless layers of agency reviews, and “lawfare” from radical environmental groups weaponized litigation to block, delay, and destroy mining projects.
Between 1990 and 2020, the United States issued fewer than a handful of new mining permits for rare earths. Companies often didn’t even bother applying, knowing the costs, lawsuits, and bureaucratic delays would kill projects before a shovel ever touched dirt.
Meanwhile, China was executing a deliberate plan: flooding the market with cheap rare earths, subsidizing production, slashing environmental standards, and building refining plants at breakneck speed. Their strategy worked. America’s industrial base was hollowed out.
China Tightens the Screws: New Export Restrictions
Today, China is restricting exports of key rare earth materials to the United States. It’s a calculated move to weaponize their monopoly against us. By controlling access to materials essential for national defense, energy infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing, China has gained powerful leverage over American policymakers.
In effect, we handed Beijing the keys to our future technologies and military readiness. This is the price of decades of short-term profit-seeking and environmental radicalism overriding strategic national interests.
What We Must Do: A National Mobilization for Rare Earth Dominance
We must act — and act decisively! This is not a policy tweak. It is a full-scale economic mobilization, like building the Arsenal of Democracy during World War II.
Here’s the game plan:
- Expedite Permitting: Thanks to President Trump’s 2025 Executive Order, we can slash permitting times from 7-10 years to 2-3 years. We must hammer through bureaucratic logjams and get projects like Wyoming’s Brook Mine and Texas’s Round Top into full production, fast.
- Massive Investment in Domestic Projects: Mining is capital intensive — think $1 billion or more per project. The government should provide tax incentives, loan guarantees, and fast-track approvals for critical mineral development.
- Build American Processing Capacity: Mining is just half the battle. China owns the refining process. We must vertically integrate supply chains right here in the USA — mine, process, manufacture — all under American control.
- Strategic Stockpiling: Establish a Strategic Rare Earth Reserve, just like we maintain a Strategic Petroleum Reserve, to buffer against supply shocks and support new domestic entrants.
- Streamline Environmental Reviews — Without Sacrificing Common Sense: We can protect the environment and still mine responsibly. Common sense regulation, not job-killing red tape, is the order of the day.
- Forge International Alliances: Partner with allies like Australia and Canada to build a Western supply network that shuts China out of this critical market.
Conclusion: Reclaiming Our Industrial Future
Make no mistake: This isn’t just about economics. It’s about national security. It’s about American sovereignty. It’s about protecting our freedom.
China’s dominance in rare earths was no accident. It was a strategy — executed ruthlessly. Now it’s our turn to be strategic. If we act boldly — if we act NOW — we can restore America’s rightful place as a mineral, manufacturing, and innovation powerhouse.
This is a second Sputnik moment. Our future — our freedom — depends on reclaiming control over the very building blocks of modern civilization.
As I always say: Free market capitalism is the best path to prosperity, but it needs a level playing field. That means no more being held hostage to China’s whims. Drill, mine, process — and most of all — LEAD.
The future belongs to the free and the brave — not the Communist Party of China.
Congress must act. Investors must act. Entrepreneurs must act. America must act.
Imagine an America once again supplying the world with the resources of the future — cleaner, stronger, freer. That future is within our grasp. Let’s seize it.