""It's scandalous that we don't have a rare earth strategic reserve," Siegel told CNBC's Squawk Box Monday, calling it a major security failure. "We let China monopolize 90% of refining rare earth materials. Where were we, realizing the importance of these?" Siegel urged the U.S. to build a rare earth stockpile similar to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which was created in 1975 after the Arab oil embargo left the country exposed to geopolitical blackmail."
"His warning comes just days after Beijing unveiled sweeping new export controls that would require companies worldwide to seek Chinese approval before shipping thousands of products containing even trace amounts of rare earths. The move sent shockwaves through U.S. manufacturing and defense supply chains, which rely heavily on Chinese mineral processing."
"But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that President Donald Trump will still meet China's Xi Jinping later this month and is ready to respond "with whatever it takes" to counter China's export restrictions. Bessent, speaking in a Fox Business interview, said there had been "substantial communication" between U.S. and Chinese officials over the weekend and confirmed the much-watched Trump-Xi bilateral remains scheduled during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea in late October. "This is China versus the world," Bessent said, warning Beijing had "pointed a bazooka at the supply chains and industrial base of the entire free world.""
China controls the vast majority of rare earth refining, leaving the United States exposed to supply-chain and national-security risks. The United States lacks a strategic reserve for rare earths and has allowed China to monopolize roughly 90% of rare earth processing. Beijing recently imposed broad export controls requiring companies worldwide to obtain Chinese approval before shipping products containing even trace rare earths. Those controls threaten manufacturing and defense supply chains that depend on Chinese mineral processing. U.S. officials plan to proceed with scheduled high-level talks and signal readiness to respond forcefully to the export restrictions. Rare earths are essential for weapons, electric vehicles, wind turbines, smartphones, and semiconductor manufacturing.
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