CaliToday (04/11/2025): President Donald Trump has declared that the United States will completely end its dependency on China for rare earth minerals within the next 18 months. The move is being driven by a "national emergency program" designed to rapidly build secure domestic and allied supply chains, which the president has labeled a top-tier national security priority.
The announcement follows a series of new export restrictions imposed by Beijing on strategic minerals vital to U.S. defense and high-tech industries.
In a candid interview on CBS's 60 Minutes on November 2, President Trump stated the new plan would deliver complete strategic autonomy for the U.S. in less than two years. He revealed that Washington is aggressively expanding cooperation with key allies, including Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom, to construct new, parallel production and processing networks.
"In a very short period of time, we will have everything we need," President Trump said. "We've activated an emergency program, and within a year to a year and a half, America will be completely independent on minerals regardless of what China threatens."
The "Weaponization" of a Global Monopoly
The urgency of the plan reflects the sheer scale of China's dominance. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), China currently accounts for approximately 70% of global rare earth mining, 90% of the refining process, and 93% of high-strength magnet production.
These materials are the essential building blocks of modern technology, found in everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to F-35 fighter jets and guided missile systems.
President Trump asserted that Beijing has "weaponized" its control over these minerals, a tactic he says began in 2010 when China cut off exports to Japan during a diplomatic dispute. He noted this has continued with restrictions on the U.S. over the past decade, covering materials like antimony, germanium, and tungsten.
The conflict escalated this year:
In April: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) expanded its export control list to include seven more rare earth minerals and the magnets made from them.
On October 9: Beijing announced a full export ban on products containing even traces of rare earths, a move President Trump described as "a hostile act not just against the United States, but against the world."
"This isn't just a threat against America it's a threat to the entire world," Trump affirmed. "And the entire world has come together to act, under our leadership."
He predicted that "within the next two years, rare earths will no longer be an issue."
Leverage, Tariffs, and a Tentative Truce
Following recent negotiations with President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in South Korea, China agreed to a one-year pause on the new export restrictions.
In exchange, Washington committed to reducing some import tariffs, and Beijing will increase purchases of U.S. agricultural goods, notably soybeans. President Trump noted that this deal "will be reviewed and renegotiated annually."
The president claimed his aggressive tariff strategy was the sole reason for the concession.
"Tariffs not only bring national security, they make the country richer," Trump said. "When China used rare earths to threaten us, I immediately imposed an additional 100% tariff, and only then did they agree to sit down at the table."
"Supersonic Speed": The De-Risking Strategy
The administration's plan is already in motion. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in a separate interview on CNN, confirmed the U.S. is moving at "supersonic speed" to break away from Chinese dependence.
"They (China) have been planning this for 25-30 years while we were asleep. Not anymore," Bessent stated. "Within the next 1 to 2 years, the United States and its allies will achieve mineral independence."
Bessent described the CCP's dominance as "a sword hanging over the head of the entire world" and stressed the time for emergency action is now.
"We have assembled our allies all the Western democracies, Asian nations, and India—to build our own supply chains together," Bessent said. "We don't want to 'decouple' from China, but we must 'de-risk.' They have proven they are an unreliable partner."
Since returning to the White House in January, President Trump has signed multiple executive orders to fast-track mining permits, fund the construction of domestic refining facilities, and boost allied investment in strategic materials.
In a final comment to the Financial Times, Secretary Bessent predicted that with the current pace of implementation, "China's ability to use rare earths as an economic weapon will disappear in one to two years."
The declaration sets a formidable timeline, raising the central question now facing the globe: Can the U.S. truly build a replacement for a 30-year-old, deeply entrenched Chinese supply chain in just 18 months, or will this dependency remain a critical threat to national security?