A Growing Crisis: Strategic Metal and Mineral Independence

Soil containing various rare earth minerals is loaded onto a ship at a port in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu province on Sept. 5, 2010, for export. STR/AFP/Getty Images

Commentary

Last month, the Energy Information Administration announced that the United States exported more crude oil and petroleum products than it imported during the week ending on Nov. 30, 2018. This was the first time that has happened since 1991, continuing a 10-year trend of growing U.S. energy independence.