US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order declaring a national emergency to expand the nation’s domestic mining industry and reduce its dependence on China for critical minerals. The directive, issued on Wednesday (30 October), asks the Department of the Interior (DOI) to use its powers under the 70-year-old Defense Production Act to develop a program to fund and speed up mineral processing as a matter of national security. Seeking to curb the U.S.’ reliance on rare earths in his latest bid to end China’s control of the market, the executive order also calls for a report evaluating possible measures such as tariffs, quotas, or other trade restrictions targeting China and “other non-market foreign adversaries.”
The Defense Production Act, which was invoked earlier this year to order the production of critical medical supplies for the US COVID-19 response, authorises the government to mandate that businesses prioritise and accept contracts for materials deemed necessary for national security, regardless of any loss incurred on businesses. “A strong America cannot be dependent on imports from foreign adversaries for the critical minerals that are increasingly necessary to maintain our economic and military strength in the 21st century,” said Trump in a message to US Congress attached to the executive order. Washington has been increasingly worried about the U.S.‘ dependence on China for critical minerals essential to the production of military equipment as well as aircraft, computers, phones and other electronics.
Local rare earth miners hailed the move, calling it, in the words of Pini Althaus, CEO of USA Rare Earth, “an important step toward ensuring the US is free from price manipulation and other aggressive economic maneuvers”. Critical minerals have been a focus of the Trump administration. The White House has signed agreements with Australia and Canada, among other nations, to secure supply of minerals needed for a range of modern life’s aspects, including military applications, electric vehicles and green technologies. In 2019, the White House ordered the Department of Defence to boost production of rare-earth magnets used in military hardware, consumer electronics and medical research amid concerns China would restrict exports of the products as trade tensions between the countries were escalating. And it is not only the U.S. but also the European Union stepped up in September its efforts to become less dependent on imported raw materials, including rare earths and, for the first time, lithium.
