{"id":1205,"date":"2024-11-30T13:11:58","date_gmt":"2024-11-30T20:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vpzajoti4c.onrocket.site\/news\/rare-earth-supply-chains\/"},"modified":"2025-05-11T09:37:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T15:37:17","slug":"rare-earth-supply-chains","status":"publish","type":"news-archive","link":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/news\/rare-earth-supply-chains\/","title":{"rendered":"China&#8217;s Ban on Rare Earth Extraction and Separation Tech &#8211; The USA Envisions Independence: How Far are we from that Milestone?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Highlights<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>China controls 60% of rare earth production and nearly 90% of processing, creating a strategic chokehold on critical technology minerals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The U.S. is actively investing in domestic rare earth processing capabilities through the Defense Production Act and Department of Defense funding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Urgent policy recommendations include leveraging industrial policies, international partnerships, and accelerating domestic processing infrastructure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<p><em>China\u2019s December 2023 ban on <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/?post_type=acf-post-type&amp;p=38\" title=\"News\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"99852\">rare earth<\/a> extraction and separation technologies has significant implications for U.S. national, economic, and energy security. Rare <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/news\/the-rare-earth-story-everyone-misses-not-just-magnets-but-the-nervous-system-of-electronics\/\" title=\"The Rare Earth Story Everyone Misses: Not Just Magnets, but the Nervous System of Electronics\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"103198\">earth<\/a> elements (REEs) are critical for defense systems, clean energy technologies, and consumer electronics. While China produces 60% of the world\u2019s rare earths, it processes nearly 90%, holding a near-monopoly in <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/news\/aclara-to-build-first-u-s-heavy-rare-earths-separation-plant-feed-secured-by-mid-2028\/\" title=\"Aclara to Build First U.S. Heavy Rare Earths Separation Plant-Feed Secured by Mid-2028\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"101387\">heavy rare earth separation<\/a>. The U.S. has recently initiated steps to build domestic capacity, including Defense Production Act (DPA) investments and Department of Defense funding for processing facilities. However, the delay in addressing rare earth vulnerabilities has left the U.S. dependent on China for critical technologies.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A report from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.csis.org\/analysis\/what-chinas-ban-rare-earths-processing-technology-exports-means#:~:text=China%20announced%20a%20ban%20of,economic%2C%20and%20rare%20earth%20security.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"external-link\">Center for Strategic and International Studies<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in a new tab)<\/span><\/a> authored by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.csis.org\/people\/gracelin-baskaran\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"external-link\">Gracelin Baskaran<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in a new tab)<\/span><\/a>, Director, Critical Minerals Security Program and a prominent figure in the field in Washington, DC reports on opportunities for diversification, noting substantial rare earth reserves in allied countries like Vietnam, Brazil, and Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scaling up domestic processing is crucial to mitigate risks. The U.S. faces challenges, including China\u2019s technical advantage in advanced <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/news\/cen-report-highlights-u-s-and-eu-push-to-break-chinas-rare-earth-dominance-but-major-hurdles-remain\/\" title=\"C&amp;EN Report Highlights U.S. and EU Push to Break China\u2019s Rare Earth Dominance-But Major Hurdles Remain\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"103199\">rare earth processing<\/a> and the lengthy timeline required to operationalize new facilities. The paper urges leveraging industrial policies, such as tax incentives and subsidies, to reduce costs and accelerate capacity building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>China\u2019s broader restrictions on critical minerals signal an urgent need for the U.S. to strengthen domestic capabilities and foster international partnerships to secure supply chains and maintain economic competitiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The recommendation for rapid diversification and capacity building might underestimate technical, economic, or political barriers in execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The analysis underscores the urgency for U.S. policymakers to address rare earth dependencies while balancing domestic and international collaboration efforts. The paper represents a clear and present U.S. policy framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>See the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.csis.org\/analysis\/what-chinas-ban-rare-earths-processing-technology-exports-means#:~:text=China%20announced%20a%20ban%20of,economic%2C%20and%20rare%20earth%20security.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"external-link\">report<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in a new tab)<\/span><\/a> authored last January, still as relevant as ever.<\/p>\n<span class=\"et_bloom_bottom_trigger\"><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>China&#8217;s ban on rare earth processing technologies exposes critical vulnerabilities in U.S. national security and demands urgent strategic diversification.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"news-type":[122],"organization":[],"regions":[315],"class_list":["post-1205","news-archive","type-news-archive","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","news-type-ree-news","regions-china"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-archive\/1205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-archive"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news-archive"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1205"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-archive\/1205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81236,"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-archive\/1205\/revisions\/81236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=1205"},{"taxonomy":"organization","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/organization?post=1205"},{"taxonomy":"regions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regions?post=1205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}