Lawmakers Propose $2.5 Billion Agency to End China’s Monopoly on Critical Minerals

In the silent battleground of rare earth elements and critical minerals, the United States faces a stark choice: continue to bow to Beijing’s economic coercion or reclaim its industrial sovereignty. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has proposed a bold new step—a $2.5 billion independent agency designed to turbocharge domestic production of these vital materials that power everything from jet fighters to electric vehicles. Why Is America Still Dependent on China for Critical Minerals? The answer lies in decades of complacency, allowing China to corner more than 90% of the world’s processing capacity for rare earths—the building blocks of modern technology...