The Trump administration is preparing to exert more control over production of rare earth elements to counter Chinese dominance of the sector amid a brewing trade fight.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said the administration is unleashing a multi-pronged strategy to better control the flow of minerals and rare earths that China otherwise controls. The plans will include stockpiling, government-dictated pricing, and potentially taking more equity stakes in private mineral companies.
The administration, he said, has identified seven domestic industries it plans to develop, and he emphasized that the United States’ mineral reliance presents one of the most urgent, near-term challenges considering a move by Beijing last week to restrict exports.
“When you are facing a nonmarket economy like China, then you have to exercise industrial policy,” Bessent said at a forum in Washington sponsored by CNBC. “We’re going to set price floors and the forward buying to make sure that this doesn’t happen again, and we’re going to do it across a range of industries.”
