The Hunt for Rare Earths: Breaking China's Hold on Rare Earth Elements

Abstract

Regardless of the rhetoric in the United States congress about breaking its supply chain reliance on China, America still heavily depends on China to provide it with critical resources required for defense and everyday life. Rare Earth Elements (REE) are among the resources the US and the rest of the world rely on China to provide. Therefore, US leadership needs to invest more in diversifying its REE supply chain to reduce its dependency on China, minimizing the impacts of Chinese-driven disruptions in REE-reliant industries. First, the US needs to invest in domestic options to help reduce its dependence on Chinese REE products. Second, Vietnam and Brazil could provide opportunities for additional foreign options to supply the US and the world with these critical elements. Demand for REEs will only grow in the coming years and decades, making the diversification of the REE supply chain a vital interest for the US.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 17, 2023
Accession Number
AD1211093

Entities

People

  • Jacob Settle

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Cyber

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Air Force
  • China
  • Congress
  • Cyber Threats
  • Cyber Warfare
  • Cyberattacks
  • Cybersecurity
  • Geography
  • Governments
  • Information Operations
  • Law
  • National Security
  • Rare Earth Elements
  • Space Force
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Economics
  • International Relations, focusing on Korea-Africa and North Korea-South Korea relations, and Nigeria-Latin American Relations.