Highlights
- Congressional hearing spotlights rare earth elements as crucial for AI, defense, and electrification technologies
- U.S. faces challenges of Chinese market manipulation, lack of domestic supply, and regulatory barriers in the critical minerals sector
- Experts propose a comprehensive industrial policy including:
- Strategic stockpiling
- Public-private partnerships
- International alliances to secure mineral supply chains
In a hearing titled “Securing America’s Mineral Future: Unlocking the Economic Value Beneath Our Feet (opens in a new tab)”, the House Committee on Small Business—chaired by Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX (opens in a new tab))—spotlighted rare earth elements (REEs) and their economic and national security stakes. While the rhetoric was patriotic and at times urgent, Rare Earth Exchanges™ (REEx) finds the hearing fell short of delivering the unified industrial policy vision this sector needs to thrive in the face of aggressive Chinese state support and market manipulation.
Witnesses
Mr. Aaron T.Dowd
Chief Executive Officer
Rare Earth Salts
Mr. Harvey Kaye
Executive Director
U.S. Critical Materials
Mr. Ken Mushinski
President and Chief Executive Officer
Rare Earth Resources
Laura Stoy
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Rivalia Chemical Co.
Summary of the Hearing
Congressmen and witnesses agreed on the stakes: rare earths like samarium are essential to AI, radar, chips, defense, and electrification. Yet the U.S. still lacks domestic supply, refining capacity, and downstream integration. Key testimony came from U.S. miners and refining startups who pointed to a triple threat:
- Chinese overproduction and market flooding;
- Lack of stable demand signals (no stockpile contracts or guaranteed offtake); and
- Regulatory inertia, permitting delays, and tax ambiguity.
Mr. Mushinski warned that without government-backed footholds, such as strategic stockpiles, offtake agreements, and tax incentives, promising firms remain unbankable. Mr. Dowd likened this moment to the Rockefeller era, with rare earths today being the new oil—if only America chooses to act.
REEx™ Response
While the hearing reflects increasing congressional awareness, it was light on the actual blueprint for action. Rare Earth Exchanges™ urges policymakers to go beyond hearings and commit to a full-spectrum industrial policy, including:
- Title III Defense Production Act (opens in a new tab) (DPA) and IRA-backed offtake agreements for REE processing and magnet manufacturing;
- Strategic stockpiling of heavy REEs and gallium is akin to critical petroleum reserves.
- Public-private partnerships modeled on DARPA and Sematech for midstream and downstream tech transfer;
- An entire system of education, training, and labor preparation (Upstream, midstream, downstream, and tech (e.g,. Recycling, study Two Rare Earth Base China)
- Consider the Operation Warp Speed type of initiative (learn from past experience), what worked, what did not work, and possibly take the positive and apply it to rare earth metals/critical minerals.
- Export credit guarantees to support allied REE projects abroad (e.g., Canada, Australia, Brazil);
- Alliance Network (from Five Eyes to Brazil and nations in Asia and Africa)
- Mandated federal procurement quotas for domestically sourced magnets and components.
This is not just about “digging up the dirt”—it’s about vertically integrated supply chains, innovation hubs, and long-term national resilience. It’s about evolving an intelligent industrial policy, applying American (and partners) creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial energies.
Rare Earth Exchanges™ Bias Meter™
| Source | Bias Rating | Justification |
|---|---|---|
| House Small Business Committee (GOP-led) | Leaning Economic-Nationalist | Framing was pro-small business, pro-Trump EO, focused on deregulatory and nationalist goals. |
| Witness Testimony | Grounded but Underpowered | Accurate diagnosis of supply chain risk, but limited systemic solutions offered. |
| Congressional Follow-up | Pending Action Bias | Strong rhetoric, but no concrete legislation or funding commitments surfaced. |
REEx Reflection
The hearing is a signal—but not a strategy. America needs aligned legislative and executive action to counter Beijing’s mineral industrial machine.
For more analysis, visit www.rareearthxchanges.com (opens in a new tab).
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