Highlights
- China dominates 70% of U.S. rare earth imports, controlling critical materials for defense, electronics, and EV technologies.
- Despite owning the Mountain Pass mine, the U.S. still relies on China for processing rare earth materials.
- The lack of domestic midstream and downstream rare earth processing capacity represents a significant strategic vulnerability for the United States.
A newly released data visualization (opens in a new tab) by Bruno Venditti for Visual Capitalist, with graphics by Sam Parker, reveals the stark geopolitical reality behind the U.S. rare earths supply chain. Between 2020 and 2023, 70% of all U.S. rare earth imports came from China, according to U.S. Geological Survey data cited in the report—underscoring a critical vulnerability as tensions between Washington and Beijing escalate.
The breakdown of America’s rare earth sources is as follows:
- 🇨🇳 China – 70%
- 🇲🇾 Malaysia – 13%
- 🇯🇵 Japan – 6%
- 🇪🇪 Estonia – 5%
- 🌐 Others – 6%
As frequently reported in Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx), despite possessing the Mountain Pass mine in California—one of the richest REE deposits in the world—the U.S. still sends most raw material to China for processing, highlighting a complete absence of domestic refining capacity.
The report further highlights China’s dominance in specific rare earths, such as yttrium (93% of U.S. imports), dysprosium, terbium, gadolinium, samarium, lutetium, and scandium, many of which are critical for defense systems, electric vehicle (EV) motors, and next-generation electronics. Key manufacturers, such as Lockheed Martin, Tesla, and Apple, remain dependent on supply chains routed through Beijing.
Amid the Trump administration’s aggressive tariff strategy, China has retaliated with new export controls on seven rare earths, tightening its grip and raising alarm in defense and tech sectors.
Although the U.S. is exploring alternatives—including a proposed deal with Ukraine, which holds Europe’s largest recoverable rare earth element (REE) reserves—the lack of domestic midstream and downstream capacity remains the most significant strategic gap.
REEx urges policymakers and industry stakeholders to address not just mining but a full mine-to-magnet industrial base within U.S. borders
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