Highlights
- Executive order leverages Defense Production Act to accelerate domestic mineral production and challenge China’s resource dominance.
- New National Energy Dominance Council coordinates cross-agency efforts to fast-track mineral extraction, permitting, and supply chain development.
- The multi-agency approach empowers the Departments of Defense, Interior, Energy, and Agriculture to secure U.S. critical minerals independence.
President Trump’s recent executive order on critical minerals marks a bold and sweeping mobilization of federal authority to confront China’s dominance in rare earths and reboot America’s resource independence. Leveraging the Defense Production Act (opens in a new tab) (DPA), a declared National Energy Emergency, and a suite of legal tools—from federal land laws to government lending frameworks—the EO empowers the executive branch to accelerate domestic mineral production, open access to federal lands, cut red tape, and mobilize capital. It isn’t just an order—it’s a declaration that the U.S. is moving from reactive to aggressive in the global minerals race.
See Rare Earth Exchanges on the executive order and a critique of why the move does not go far enough.
The newly empowered National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC) (opens in a new tab) will coordinate the effort, acting as the nerve center for cross-agency strategy, permitting acceleration, and industry outreach.
Key agencies—the Departments of Defense, Interior, Energy, and Agriculture—are tasked with everything from fast-tracking leases to directing capital and managing supply chain risk. Financial agencies like the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Export-Import Bank are now equipped to fund new mining projects and secure international feedstock for domestic processing. Small mining companies and tech innovators are not left behind—the Small Business Administration is directed to bring them into the national effort.
For platforms like Rare Earth Exchanges, this executive order is both an opportunity and a call to action. With plans ongoing to include real-time mine data, a growing directory of U.S. projects, and supply-demand intelligence, Rare Earth Exchanges is well-positioned to become a sort of “Bloomberg Terminal” of critical minerals.
By plugging into the federal ecosystem—via the NEDC, DFC, Permitting Council, or Defense Department—the platform can serve as a vital transparency and intelligence tool, aiding everything from permitting oversight to national security planning. This is more than policy; it’s an open invitation for public-private partnerships that can reshape America’s resource future.
| Agency / Entity | Primary Role Under EO | Target Contact / Office |
|---|---|---|
| National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC) | Central coordinator for interagency actions, RFIs, permitting, and transparency | Chair’s Office / White House Council / OSTP |
| Department of Defense (DoD) | Executes DPA authority, capital tools, industrial base support, land leasing | Assistant Secretary for Industrial Base Policy; OSC; IBAS |
| Department of the Interior (DOI) | Manages federal land access, permitting, mineral surveys, mapping | BLM Director of Minerals; ONRR |
| Department of Energy (DOE) | Develops land, funds projects, and manages production partnerships | Office of Fossil Energy & Carbon Management (for now) |
| Department of Agriculture (USDA) | Coordinates land access under USDA, supports small rural developers | USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources |
| Development Finance Corporation (DFC) | Provides loans, risk insurance, and co-funds mineral production with DoD | CEO’s Office; Strategic Programs / Public Policy Office |
| Export-Import Bank (EXIM) | Supports global mineral sourcing and international offtake agreements | Strategy Division; Risk Analysis Units |
| Small Business Administration (SBA) | Supports mineral-sector SMEs through capital access, programs, and legislation | Administrator’s Office; Mineral SME Financing Lead |
| Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) | Transparency dashboard and review streamlining for priority projects | Executive Director |
| Assistant to the President for Economic Policy | Coordinates all economic aspects of EO execution | National Economic Council (NEC) |
| Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs | Ensures EO aligns with strategic national security goals | National Security Council (NSC) |
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