Rare-earth elements (REEs) are a collection of seventeen versatile elements from the periodic table that comprise[i] the vital components in electronics, high-performance magnets, fiber optics, lasers, and medical imaging. Their reach touches nearly all technological innovation, but most importantly, they are the lifeblood for chief American military defense systems.
      From communication technology to guidance and control systems, the U.S. is exceptionally reliant on the incessant supply of REEs. They’re found[ii] within a multitude of archetypal military arrangements, but their influence extends to highly advanced weaponry. The military’s crown jewel of the skies, the F-35 fighter jet, was developed[iii] with Chinese-supplied REEs in the production of permanent magnets, among other parts built into the fighter. Today, the U.S. remains profoundly import-reliant on these indispensable resources[iv] for national security.
       How did we get here? From 1965 to 1980, the United States relished in the security provided by its robust domestic production[v] of rare-earth elements. But in the ensuing decades, U.S. dominance spectacularly collapsed. Under the direction of Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese armed themselves with the ambition and industrial capacity to undermine the United States via Program 863[vi]. They flooded[vii] global markets with excess supply and subsidized domestic output, throttling foreign competition until their untimely capitulation.
      With time, China obtained near monopoly-status: control over 97 percent[viii] of the world’s rare-earth production. Beginning in 2010, China first weaponized[ix] REEs over a geopolitical dispute with Japan. Global supply constricted under the imposition of export quotas, causing prices to skyrocket worldwide.
          In the second half of 2018, China again sabotaged[x] global supply chains by slashing domestic production of REEs 36 percent, down to 45 thousand tonnes. This flagrant rendition of 2010 suggests that China holds in contempt global rules of commerce. In response, the U.S. must ameliorate its relationship with REEs by accelerating policies to assert independence from Chinese materiel.
          First, the United States should nationalize the Mountain Pass mine in California[xi]. By nationalizing Mountain Pass, the U.S. would reaffirm the sanctity of the supply chain and dispel preceding policy stipulating that a purely hands-off approach will win the day. Leveraging government to enhance national security is no vice. Understanding this basic truth will signal nonconformity to the current humiliating reality.
      Next, the federal government must plow more resources into research and development alongside industry to strengthen the supply chain[xii]. The public-private partnership can research alternative inputs to substitute in lieu of REEs. These critical investments could contrive novel solutions and rapidly wean the U.S. off Chinese supply.
           Lastly, the U.S. should leverage the full power of its global alliances to diversify the supply of REEs. The coalition could safeguard international markets from disruption and reposition the U.S. in the rare-earths industry. Policymakers must be cognizant to avoid aligning with nations dependent upon China for procurement, which could negate gains from spearheading cooperation.
          All said, there are a host of stratagems for the United States to implement. Deliberate energy to reconstruct the supply chain away from China is woefully overdue. And it must happen – now.
​

Bibliography

​[i] “Rare Earth Elements,” Geological Society of London, December 2011, https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/~/media/shared/documents/policy/Rare%20Earth%20Elements%20briefing%20note%20final%20%20%20new%20format.pdf, Accessed 16 November 2018.
[ii] Lee Simmons, “Rare-Earth Market,” Foreign Policy, 12 July 2016, https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/07/12/decoder-rare-earth-market-tech-defense-clean-energy-china-trade/, Accessed 16 November 2018.
[iii] Valerie Bailey Grasso, “Rare Earth Elements in National Defense: Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress,” Congressional Research Service, 23 December 2013, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R41744.pdf, Accessed 17 November 2018.
[iv] “Interior Seeks Public Comment on raft List of 35 Minerals Deemed Critical to U.S. National Security and the Economy,” U.S. Department of the Interior, 16 February 2018, https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-seeks-public-comment-draft-list-35-minerals-deemed-critical-us-national, Accessed 17 November.
[v] Patrick Chovanec, “The Politics of Rare Earth,” Forbes, 4 October 2010, https://www.forbes.com/sites/china/2010/10/04/the-politics-of-rare-earth/#4de352a8d835, Accessed19 November 2019.
[vi] “National High-tech R&D Program (863 Program),” Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China, http://www.most.gov.cn/eng/programmes1/, Accessed 16 November 2018.
[vii] Nabeel Mancheri, Lalitha Sundaresan, and S. Chandrashekar, “Dominating the World: China and the Rare Earth Industry,” National Institute of Advanced Studies, April 2013, http://investorintel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/China-rare-earth-strategyin-wHighlights-.pdf, Accessed 14 November 2018.
[viii] “Rare Earth Elements are Vulnerable to Supply Disruptions When China Controls 97% of the World’s Production,” Institute for Energy Research, 17 February 2010, https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/international-issues/rare-earth-elements-are-vulnerable-to-supply-disruptions-when-china-controls-97-of-the-worlds-production/, Accessed 18 November 2018.
[ix]Keith Bradsher, “Amid Tension, China Blocks Crucial Exports to Japan,” The New York Times, 23 September 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/business/global/24rare.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss%28used, Accessed 17 November 2018.
[x] Barbara Lewis and Ernest Scheyder, “China Cutting Rare Earth Output, Unnerving Global Manufacturers,” Reuters, 24 October 2018 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-rareearths/china-cutting-rare-earth-output-unnerving-global-manufacturers-idUSKCN1MY2GZ, Accessed 18 November 2018.
[xi] Sally Bakewell and Steven Church, “This CEO Wants Trump to National the Only Rare-Earth Mine in America,” Bloomberg, 18 July 2017, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-18/trump-urged-by-ceo-to-nationalize-the-only-u-s-rare-earths-mine, Accessed 20 November 2018.
[xii] Katherine Bourzac, “Can the U.S. Rare-Earth Industry Rebound?” MIT Technology Review, 29 October 2010, https://www.technologyreview.com/s/421472/can-the-us-rare-earth-industry-rebound/, Accessed 20 November 2018.