appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Frank Tang

US lawmakers on Wednesday called for a change in Washington’s strategy to evade China’s chokehold on rare earth mineral supplies, arguing that new approaches are needed in parallel with President Donald Trump’s efforts to speed up domestic production.
Proposals to dismantle the chokepoint – including new technologies and development of components that do not require the critical minerals as inputs – were presented during a hearing of the US House Select Committee on China.
The suggestions came as frustration builds over the slow pace of US mining and processing and China’s de facto control of global prices. New technologies that could replace rare earths in critical components, however, remain years away.
“We’re chasing tails. I don’t think we’re ever gonna get to the point that we’re gonna be able to compete with the Chinese on the rare earth issue, I really don’t,” Carlos Gimenez, a Republican US congressman for Florida, said at the hearing.
“I think the Chinese are so far ahead, it’s impossible for us to catch up.”


Executives from three major US mineral companies – rare earth miner MP Materials, Lithium Americas and Niron Magnetics – were invited to testify at the hearing, which focused on China’s dominance in global pricing power and possible US responses.
All three firms received funding from the US government, including grants or equity investment. The US Department of Defence invested US$400 million in July in MP Materials to get a 15 per cent stake.
However, corporate executives gave no clear answer to how long the US can shift away from Chinese supplies, particularly against the backdrop of the recently reached one-year truce.
“I just think that if we even try, they’ll take steps to make sure that it fails, fill that embargo us or whatever. And then we’ll cry uncle and that’s it,” Gimenez said, calling for more attention on investing in alternatives.
The public hearing came at a time when policymakers in Washington have amplified their concerns over reliance on Chinese supplies, particularly after the rare earth export control earlier this year, and it also reflects a division on strategy – whether the US should go full blast on developing alternatives or just try to catch the Chinese at the rare earth game.
China produces the vast majority of the world’s rare earths – essential for electric vehicles, electronics and defence components – giving Beijing leverage as Trump’s global tariff war, announced in April, unfolds.
The two countries reached a tariff truce and export control pause after the South Korean summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump in late October. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this week that a rare earths deal between the US and China will “hopefully” be done by Thanksgiving, which falls on November 27.
Raja Krishnamoorthi, ranking member of the China committee and also a Democrat representative for Illinois, said “it’s time for a Manhattan Project-like effort” to end US rare earth dependency on China.
“Mining and processing more rare earths in America is only one part of the solution, I respectfully submit. We also need alternatives that potentially bypass rare earths entirely,” he said at the hearing.

Krishnamoorthi also presented a picture of Jian-Ping Wang, a University of Minnesota professor who develops a technology for replacing rare earths. “If we want to break China’s stranglehold on magnets, we need an all hands on deck approach. That means welcoming the best talent from around the world, including China,” he said.
The Democratic congressman’s remark appeared to allude to heightened Republican scrutiny of Chinese researchers and students in the US academic system over national security concerns – a climate that analysts say may be encouraging more Chinese scientists to return home.
For Minnesota-based Niron Magnetics, which is using an entirely new technology called iron nitride to replace rare earths in magnet production, it still needs time and more funding to scale up production.
“It is not gonna be quick and easy,” said Jonathan Rowntree, the company’s CEO.
“We’re fortunate that for now [we’re in] a place where we’ve already gone from the gram to the ton scale.”


Trump signs bill targeting China’s Russia energy imports days before Xi’s US visit

Trump says Xi state dinner is ‘a very tough ticket’ as business guest list takes shape

China hawks join forces in US Congress  to pressure Trump ahead of Xi’s visit

Xi-Trump summit preview: what to watch for as investors brace for best and worst scenarios

US-China trade war

US lawmakers press for new tactics to challenge China’s grip on rare earths

A view of the MP Materials rare earth open-pit mine in Mountain Pass, California. Photo: Reuters

Illinois congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi is the ranking member of the US House Select Committee on China. Photo: AFP

China rare earths deal will ‘hopefully’ be done by Thanksgiving, says Scott Bessent

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington. Photo: Reuters

How China’s rare earth leverage works – limits, risks and global responses

Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in China’s Jiangsu province. Photo: Reuters

US races to secure China rare earths deal as worries over chokeholds linger

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk after a bilateral meeting in South Korea in late October. After the meeting, the White House announced Beijing had agreed to suspend some of its export controls over critical minerals. Photo: Reuters

Machines extract rare earths at a mine in China’s northern Inner Mongolia region. China’s control over global critical mineral supplies remains a concern in the United States. Photo: AP

News

China

Politics

Science & Technology

Science

Congressional panel urges alternative technologies as Beijing’s pricing power and slow US production raise doubts about reducing dependence


Congressional panel urges alternative technologies as Beijing’s pricing power and slow US production raise doubts about reducing dependence.


US lawmakers press for new tactics to challenge China’s grip on rare earths

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Congressional panel urges alternative technologies as Beijing’s pricing power and slow US production raise doubts about reducing dependence

Congressional panel urges alternative technologies as Beijing’s pricing power and slow US production raise doubts about reducing dependence