America Has Been ‘Asleep at the Wheel’ on China’s Rare-Earth Threat
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan talks about new legislation that would require the Pentagon to ensure access to critical defense minerals.
On the eve of a highly anticipated meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping during this weekend’s G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Congress is growing increasingly concerned that the supply of critical rare-earth minerals found in every advanced weapon in the U.S. arsenal could be a casualty of the escalating trade war.
Lara Seligman was a staff writer at Foreign Policy from 2018-2020. Twitter: @laraseligman
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How China Could Shut Down America’s Defenses
Advanced U.S. weapons are almost entirely reliant on rare-earth materials only made in China—and they could be a casualty of the trade war.
China Raises Threat of Rare-Earths Cutoff to U.S.
Beijing could slam every corner of the American economy, from oil refineries to wind turbines to jet engines, by banning exports of crucial minerals.
America’s Indo-Pacific Alliances Are Astonishingly Strong
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