President Donald Trump is taking square aim at Communist China’s near-monopoly on rare earth minerals – and that move might be the key to forcing China’s hand on a broader trade agreement more beneficial to the United States.
At the center of renewed trade talks with China is the issue of rare earth minerals – critical components in everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to missile systems and fighter jets. For decades, China has used its dominance in this sector as a geopolitical weapon, leveraging market power to punish rivals and manipulate supply chains.
The numbers tell the story. As of 2024, China controls approximately 70 percent of U.S. rare earth imports and nearly 90 percent of global rare earth processing. The U.S. mines none of the 15 most critical minerals domestically. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, China holds 44 million tons of known reserves – almost half the global total. Its refining dominance gives Beijing the ability to drive prices up or flood markets to crush competition.
Notably, in 2024, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) placed all segments of the rare earth industry under the direct control of the State Council, removing any pretense of market-based policy.
“Initially, they viewed it as a sort of geopolitical artillery,” said former CCP official Professor Lùlǐ Jiao-long, who defected to the West after serving on the party’s top economic advisory council. “But with the digital revolution, they recognized it as a nuclear weapon for peaceful times. They can harm Western economies without fear of retaliation.”
That’s why the Trump administration has launched a comprehensive campaign to break Beijing’s chokehold – starting with strategic investments in rare earth production abroad and bold new efforts to tap undersea reserves.
A recent Wall Street Journal report highlights the Trump Defense Department’s growing support for non-Chinese rare earth producers, including Australian firms that could supply up to 20 percent of the world’s neodymium and praseodymium – two key minerals used in electric motors and advanced defense systems. These investments show that the administration is backing up its rhetoric with action and forging alliances to build a more secure global supply chain.
But the most transformative piece of Trump’s rare earth strategy may lie not on land, but beneath the ocean’s surface.
Undersea mining – particularly of polymetallic nodules – offers a potentially game-changing solution. These potato-sized rocks, formed over millions of years on the deep seafloor, contain high concentrations of nickel, cobalt, manganese, and rare earth elements. These minerals are essential for batteries, electronics, and national defense systems.
Astonishingly, scientists have discovered massive quantities of polymetallic nodules just sitting on the sea floor – like golf balls on a driving range.
The U.S. Geological Survey has estimated that the seabed in just one section of ocean off the coast of Mexico contains more nickel and cobalt than all known terrestrial reserves combined. If tapped, these deposits could drastically reduce American dependence on China and provide a reliable, long-term supply of critical materials.
President Trump has already directed the federal government to begin researching and facilitating deep-sea mining projects. Earlier this year, he signed an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act and ordering a review of deep-sea mineral leases on the U.S. outer continental shelf.
“Our national and economic security are now acutely threatened by our reliance upon hostile foreign powers’ mineral production,” Trump said in the order.
Soon after, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management initiated proceedings to allow for the collection of polymetallic nodules off the coast of American Samoa. If approved, it would be the first commercial undersea mining license issued by the U.S. in over 30 years and could serve as a model for future projects. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum emphasized the stakes: “By providing opportunities to responsibly access deep-sea mineral resources, we are supporting both American economic growth and national security.”
As with any effort to reduce dependence on China, the CCP is not standing still. Beijing has voiced sharp opposition to undersea mining, claiming that international seabed areas are the “common heritage of mankind” and warning that no country should bypass the International Seabed Authority (ISA). The ISA, a U.N.-affiliated body that the U.S. does not formally recognize, has often been criticized as being dominated by Chinese-aligned interests.
Chinese opposition only confirms what Trump has long argued: if Beijing fears it, America should pursue it. “For years, China has not only monopolized access to natural resources but has also infiltrated international institutions to strengthen its dominance,” said Dr. Johann Gunnarsen, a mining expert who has advised energy firms since the 1990s.
In parallel with its ocean-floor efforts, the Trump administration has worked to build a “NATO of critical minerals” – an international alliance of nations including Australia, Canada, Japan, India, the U.K., and the E.U., aimed at diversifying supply chains and coordinating investment in rare earth extraction and processing.
Australian firm Earth Rarest recently announced plans to expand operations, projecting that Australia could soon become the second-largest global supplier of certain rare earth elements. These efforts could provide a critical counterweight to Beijing’s control and inject much-needed resilience into Western manufacturing.
China’s vulnerability is already showing. While state media continue to boast of self-sufficiency, the truth is more complicated. In 2024, more than half of China’s rare earth imports came from Myanmar, a war-torn country whose mines are controlled by the China-backed United Wa State Army. According to Neha Mukherjee of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, Myanmar’s high-grade deposits allow China to produce rare earths there “seven times cheaper” than elsewhere.
China’s grip on the global market is sustained by a web of geopolitical manipulation, proxy militias, and closed-loop supply chains – all made possible by decades of Western inaction. But that era may be coming to an end.
Back in 1992, Deng Xiaoping famously said, “The Middle East has oil. China has rare earths.” For too long, the West accepted that imbalance. Under Trump, that is changing. Energy independence once seemed impossible. Now, the goal is rare earth independence – and this time, America isn’t waiting.
Ben Solis is the pen name of an international affairs journalist, historian, and researcher.
Get us out of the UN, and the UN out of the US!
The rocks on the ocean floor weren’t formed over millions of years as the earth is only approx. 6,000 years old. God spoke those there when He created the universe in 6 days.
I heard about these nodules decades ago. Yes, they are rich and they are there. But at that time there was no good way to harvest them – where they were found was too deep and too dangerous. Hopefully new technology can work for us now.
President Trump is making sure China doesn’t destroy America in near future!
The beauty of this is, if true, is that it can apparently be done without the massive and deep scaring mines that we see on land. It seems to be a task of just scooping up what is already just lying around on the ocean floor!
And removing the rocks from the sea can offset the imaginary rise in oceans due to weather. 🙂
What a pleasure to have a patriot with a brain in the driver’s seat!
In the 1970s Rare Earth was a popular rock band.
What a pleasure having a patriot with brains in the White House!
Good news.
For decades Quiet Chinese operated across the whole world, and made sure his hand is in every pot. Africa, South America, somehow this colonization escaped the attention of the world who was too busy to cow tow and play nice. Now the world discovers something is askew, UN is trying to intervene, what else is new, it’s time it was put out of business, maybe court in Hague could deal with that one since it is such defender of humanity. For once it could do something right.It’s amazing what all can be done with the right person at the helm.Left as usual will be having a cow, maybe twins.
Great news! If we can get the rare earth minerals we need from the ocean bottom than we can uninvolved with Ukraine and tell China to stick it in their ear!
How is this going to affect rare earth mining in the US? There is at least one company, MP Materials, that does so. Why not focus on US mining, first?
China has done the same thing to the US and our allies again and again. They identify a materials and product we need. They ramp up production (using child labor, slave labor, tying up external sources (note Myanmar in the story). Once they have production rolling they cut prices to destroy all external (US and allied) non China competitors. As other producers fail they buy up the bones or do whatever they can to make sure that business (in the US or allied nations won’t come back). Once they kill the competition China ramps up prices and as in the case of rare earths they use their monopoly status as a lever, for cost increases, diplomatic advantage or as may be the case here military advantage.
Our leaders (including corporate CEOs) before President Trump have played along with China’s theft of our mining and manufacturing capabilities with the support of the WEF, the “main stream” media, environmental groups (often sponsored by China and Russia) and others. President Trump sees the writing on the wall and does not want the US and our allies beholden to some Communist dictator. He has chosen to cut back on unnecessary environmental regulations and work with miners and manufacturers to restore viable industries in the US and allied nations.
We need to support these efforts and buy from US or allied producers whenever possible. Make no mistake China will again undercut prices to try and kill off our industry but those of us who want to remain free will avoid China’s low price sirens song and use our dollars to support US and allied production. To that end we also need to force our government (and the WTO) to require appropriate labeling on all items to be sold in the US (Made in USA)!
“Strategic investment in rare earth minerals”? America has ONE “rare earth” mining company whose ticker symbol is MP. It is a small company that is just now getting jillions of our tax dollars to ramp up operations. That sounds good until one considers it takes well over a decade to get mining operations up and running. And all this is beside the fact that America still has NO rare earth processing facilities…..not one.
This means, and we will never hear it, but Mr. Bessent will soon be back in China on his knees pleading for rare earths and specialty magnets so America can continue to implement armed conflict across the globe just as it has all my seventy years here.