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Recently, a top US official came back from a southern state displaying a small piece of metal, declaring it was the first rare-earth magnet made in the US in decades.

He indicated that this was a sign the US is ending “Beijing's grip on our supply chain.” Because of a new rare-earth mineral refining facility in South Carolina, he noted, “We’re finally becoming independent again.”

Breaking Beijing's Control in Essential Minerals

Overthrowing Beijing's refining and production supremacy in these minerals, which are vital for some semiconductors, batteries, and armaments, is a top priority for the American leadership. Through tariffs and other strategies, the US is relying on bringing the industry back to US soil.

These tariffs prompted Beijing to limit rare-earth shipments to the US and motivated the administration to forge agreements with Australia, a partner, another nation, and Japan.

While the US and China have now brokered a temporary agreement on rare earths, China—with around the majority of worldwide extraction and over 90% of international refining—holds an advantage that will be difficult to erode.

“Rare earths are essential for EV engines but also in guidance systems that have clear uses for the defense department,” says an industry expert. “Anything that has a decent magnet in it uses rare earths.”

Challenging Path for US Independence

There’s no easy fix for the US to reset its reliance on imports from China of materials essential to defense, semiconductor production, and the shift from fossil fuels to wind and solar. Data from federal reports, the US imported 80% of the rare earths it used in recent years.

For some rare-earth minerals such as dysprosium, used in semiconductors, and samarium, critical for defense systems, Chinese refinement dominance rises to almost total. Dysprosium and terbium are found in magnets essential for electric engines and power systems in wind turbines, along with applications for mobile devices, high-intensity lighting, and energy plants.

Long-Term Efforts and International Resources

Efforts to cut the US’s dependence on China's output of rare-earth minerals could take years. Analysts point out that “Rare earths” is not entirely accurate because they’re not that uncommon in the planet's surface, but many deposits, such as those in Ukraine, where an agreement was made recently, are only in the early stages of mining.

“It’s not that there’s a shortage itself, it’s that China can control how much is exported,” an analyst explained, noting that obtaining export licenses from China can be a lengthy, difficult process.

Greenland, a key area of US attention, and Brazil, are two other countries with substantial rare-earth resources. Domestically, there are deposits in the West, the Midwest, and the central US, with the biggest active site operating at Mountain Pass, California, about 60 miles from a major city.

Federal Efforts and Investment

In July, the Pentagon became the largest shareholder in a mining company, with intentions to open a new “mine-to-magnet” plant, named 10X, to make magnets crucial for F-35 fighter jets, unmanned systems, and submarines.

Across the continent, estimated reserves of rare earths were calculated at millions of tons in the US and more than 14m tons in Canada—far less than the vast reserves estimated to be in the Asian giant.

Mirroring government funding in the steel industry and domestic technology firms, the federal agency announced it was prepared to make targeted funding in strategic resource firms.

“The US is up against state capital because China is selecting these strategically that they want to invest in,” a cabinet member said during a address in April.

He suggested that the US could utilize a national investment pool to accelerate production. “Why wouldn’t the richest nation in the world not possess the biggest state investment fund?” he asked.

Historical Obstacles and Future Outlook

US efforts to support homegrown output have floundered in the past when China lowered prices, rendering unsupported rare-earth development unprofitable against China’s lower cost of production and far-sighted planning.

In the past, a market expert testified before a congressional panel that “those who invest in battery capacity and industrial networks today are likely to dominate this sector for the foreseeable future. There is still time for the US but immediate steps are required.”

Since then, a scramble to assemble trading alliances around rare earths is accelerating.

“Soon, we’ll have so much essential resources that you won’t know what to do with them,” the President told the media. That came eight months after a request for compensation in the form of minerals from another country. More recently, the authorities in Asia signed a deal with an American company, securing rights to minerals such as key metals.

Can the US Succeed?

But, is America able to close its shortfall and loosen China’s hold on rare-earth global networks? “America has implemented really significant steps already,” an analyst says. The nation, he continues, cannot be “self-reliant in the near future because it takes time to start operations and build refining capacity.”