Highlights
- In 2012, the Congressional Research Service warned about America’s dangerous dependence on China for rare earth elements.
- China controls over 97% of the global rare earth supply through strategic industrial policies and resource manipulation.
- U.S. leadership has failed to act decisively for 13 years, necessitating immediate industrial policy to reshore rare earth production.
In a bombshell of historical neglect, Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx) revisits an April 2012 report (opens in a new tab) by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS), co-authored by Wayne M. Morrison and Rachel Tang, that warned in excruciating detail of America’s strategic dependence on China for rare earth elements (REEs). The detailed report—China’s Rare Earth Industry and Export Regime: Economic and Trade Implications for the United States (opens in a new tab)—outlined the geopolitical risk, trade distortions, and national security vulnerabilities posed by China’s near-monopoly on REE production and processing. The report documented how China had seized control of over 97% of the world’s rare earth supply through state subsidies, lax environmental standards, and strategic industrial policy—and warned that U.S. defense and tech industries were dangerously exposed.
Fast-forward to 2025, and those warnings now read like prophecy. The CRS described China’s “technology for resources” strategy—coercing foreign companies to relocate to China in exchange for REE access—while noting the collapse of U.S. production due to shortsighted policy and globalist outsourcing. The report even documented China’s use of rare earths as a political weapon during the 2010 Japan dispute and called on Congress to rebuild a domestic supply chain. Multiple bills were introduced. A rare earth caucus was formed.
Yet here we are, 13 years later, and China still controls the game—from mine to magnet.
REEx sounds the alarm: this is not just policy inertia—it’s bipartisan strategic malpractice. Yes, the U.S. political and corporate leadership class has had over a decade of warnings and mounting evidence but chose to kick the can down the road. That road is ending amid a global trade war and national emergency over industrial sovereignty. The true Trump administration 2.0 has issued a couple of executive orders and a 232 action raising the critical mineral topic. But it’s not sufficient. REEx calls for immediate, coordinated industrial action to reshore REE mining, separation, and manufacturing capacity—and to treat this dependency with the same urgency we give to energy and defense. Meaning industrial policy is necessary. The time for white papers is over. The time for action is now. Give retail investors the confidence they need to know the full weight of the U.S. government is behind resilience.
Discuss More in the Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx) Forum (opens in a new tab)
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