Project Vault and Much More Will Parry China’s Monopoly on Rare-Earth Minerals
The Trump White House has initiated three novel initiatives to neuter Beijing’s present stranglehold on rare-earth elements.
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Robert Friedland, mining industry financier, as he announces the creation of the U.S. strategic critical minerals reserve during an event in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Feb. 2, 2026. Alex Wong/Getty Images
Washington has launched an ambitious three-pronged program to break China’s current chokehold on the global supply of rare-earth elements. Because these metals are critical to modern technologies—from automobiles to household appliances to artificial intelligence (AI) to jets, to rockets, and to weaponry—there is a clear sense of urgency.
Milton Ezrati
Author
Milton Ezrati is a contributing editor at The National Interest, an affiliate of the Center for the Study of Human Capital at the University at Buffalo (SUNY), and chief economist for Vested, a New York-based communications firm. Before joining Vested, he served as chief market strategist and economist for Lord, Abbett & Co. He also writes frequently for City Journal and blogs regularly for Forbes. His latest book is “Thirty Tomorrows: The Next Three Decades of Globalization, Demographics, and How We Will Live.”
