"Voice of America" reported that the United States is engaging in four combinations of punches to rebuild a "de-China" rare earth supply chain.
After U.S. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held the "Trump-Xi meeting" in Washington at the end of September, the U.S.-China trade truce was postponed for only two months. Some analysts pointed out that the problem is stuck in the rare earth negotiations because the United States is dissatisfied that China has only fulfilled two-thirds of its promised rare earth exports in 2025, so it refuses to significantly relax trade restrictions to maintain pressure.
Since China introduced rare earth export control measures in 2025, which has "stuck" the United States, how to break out has become a top priority for the United States, and it has also prompted it to rebuild a "de-Sino" and independent rare earth supply chain.
Although the market generally believes that it may take 5 to 10 years for the United States to "de-China" the rare earth supply chain, Peter Navarro, the White House's senior adviser for trade and manufacturing, accepted an interview with the Voice of America on September 25 and gave the most optimistic timetable, believing that the United States will achieve self-sufficiency in rare earth magnets in the next 6 to 18 months and even be able to export.
Navarro said that the U.S. government is taking a "super-fast" approach to inject capital into new companies and then pair them with existing large manufacturers for large-scale production. The cost of the currently produced oxides and downstream magnets is expected to be lower than that of Chinese products. He also said that the CCP's "weaponization" of rare earths is a wake-up call to the United States and the world.
Experts point out that Japan's dependence on China for rare earths has dropped from 92% in 2010 to less than 60% this year. Although it is time-consuming and difficult for the United States to take the road of independent rare earths, "it is definitely in the right direction." The United States is taking a multi-pronged approach to rebuild its independent rare earth mining chain to get rid of its dependence on China.
"Voice of America" reported that the United States is currently pursuing four major combinations of independent rare earth projects, including: 1. Project Vault with a total value of US$12 billion. In February this year, the United States launched a mechanism similar to the oil war reserve to ensure a 60-day emergency supply of key rare earth minerals such as gallium and cobalt required for military products such as smartphones, electric vehicles, and fighter jets. At present, more than a dozen U.S. companies, including Boeing and General Motors (GM), have joined, and have promised that if a major supply crisis occurs in the future, they will draw down war preparation stocks in advance for use under conditions such as specified prices, rations, and inventory replenishment.
2. Capital injection and minimum price guarantee. The Wall Street Journal quoted an anonymous White House official on September 27 as reporting that the U.S. government is actively investing in domestic rare earth mineral projects and has completed 180 projects so far. The report quoted statistics from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington think tank, saying that between 2025 and June this year, the U.S. government’s non-equity investment in rare earth and magnet projects increased to US$7.6 billion, more than four times the total investment between 2020 and 2024.
In addition, the United States also vigorously supports local industries through equity investment and price subsidies. For example, the Department of Defense has spent US$400 million in July 2025 to obtain MP from US companies. Materials holds a total of 15% of the shares. In addition to becoming the largest shareholder, it also promised to acquire all the production capacity of its second magnet factory in the next 10 years and implement a "price guarantee." Taking the price floor of neodymium oxide at US$110 per kilogram as an example, which is almost twice as high as the market price of Chinese products, it ensures that the company will no longer be subject to China's price floor to manufacture and develop structural superchargers and structural structures for industrial industries.
3. Rare earth recycling cycle. Experts point out that the United States also funds "urban mining" plans to recycle rare earths from electronic waste, and promotes the "Rare Earth Recycling Act", which requires manufacturers to establish product recycling systems. It also uses tax incentives to encourage companies to use recycled rare earths, hoping to achieve the goal of recycling rare earths to meet 20% of domestic demand by 2030. Among large American companies, Apple, for example, signed a US$500 million supply agreement with MP Materials as early as 2025, entrusting the latter to provide Apple with rare earth magnets by recycling rare earths.
4. International alliances. The United States has launched the "Forum for Resource Geostrategic Engagement", referred to as the FORGE Alliance, covering 55 countries, and officially took over the chairmanship in July. Analysts believe that this alliance highly demonstrates the United States' strategic strategy to counter China and regain global rare earth pricing power.
In this regard, Yuki Kobayashi, chief researcher of the security and Japan-US affairs group of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, a Japanese think tank, said: "The United States, Japan and Europe were the main countries that introduced rare earth refining technology to China in the past. Some companies with small market shares in the three places still retain the technology of rare earth refining and manufacturing high-efficiency magnets. Therefore, reorganizing these technologies with the United States and Japan as the core is the key to breaking China's monopoly."
