"Importing countries are racing to secure minerals, using a mix of onshoring (encouraging mining within their borders) and bilateral trade agreements. Producing countries are implementing export bans, establishing state-owned companies and in some cases nationalising entire mineral sectors. Whether justified on account of the energy transition, tech sectors or military preparedness, countries everywhere want their piece of the critical mineral pie.
In the US, Trump’s moves mark the escalation of a bipartisan consensus that has been over a decade in the making. It was during Barack Obama’s presidency that federal officials first outlined a “critical minerals strategy”. In Trump’s first term, executive orders expanded the list of critical minerals and framed reliance on imports from foreign adversaries as a threat. Joe Biden’s administration increased domestic mining, established friendshoring alliances and imposed major tariffs on minerals from China.
Some previous US policies bear an unsettling resemblance to Trump’s recent bluster too. Under Biden, for example, the state department lobbied the CEO of privately held Tanbreez to resist any offers from Chinese investors for its Greenland rare earth deposit."
https://www.ft.com/content/b3709429-a99b-4105-afa5-001d08a3fd80
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