US President Donald Trump has unveiled a $12 billion plan to create a critical mineral reserve, dubbed "Project Vault", aimed at countering China's dominance in the sector. The initiative is seen as an effort by Washington to safeguard American industries from supply chain disruptions.
The project, which will be funded by a $10 billion loan from the US Export-Import Bank and nearly $1.7 billion in private capital, aims to create a stockpile of critical minerals that would help shield manufacturers of key goods such as vehicles, electronics, and aerospace components from any shortage.
In announcing the plan, Trump likened it to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, established in the 1970s to mitigate oil shortages during an Arab embargo. The US Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, confirmed that 11 additional countries would be joining the initiative later this week.
The move comes as China's grip on the global rare earth market remains tight, with Beijing controlling about 70% of world production and 90% of processing. This dominance has sparked concerns among Western nations, which have sought to diversify their sources of critical minerals.
As tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to simmer over trade issues, including tariffs imposed by Trump last year, China's restriction on the export of rare earths, essential for jet engines, radar systems, electric vehicles, laptops, and smartphones, serves as a stark reminder of the stakes.
"We don't want to ever go through what we went through a year ago," Trump said, referring to the recent trade standoff. "It did work out." The president expressed confidence that the government would make a profit from the loan used to fund the reserve.
The announcement has sparked optimism among industry experts, who see Project Vault as a vital step in securing America's supply chain resilience.
The project, which will be funded by a $10 billion loan from the US Export-Import Bank and nearly $1.7 billion in private capital, aims to create a stockpile of critical minerals that would help shield manufacturers of key goods such as vehicles, electronics, and aerospace components from any shortage.
In announcing the plan, Trump likened it to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, established in the 1970s to mitigate oil shortages during an Arab embargo. The US Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, confirmed that 11 additional countries would be joining the initiative later this week.
The move comes as China's grip on the global rare earth market remains tight, with Beijing controlling about 70% of world production and 90% of processing. This dominance has sparked concerns among Western nations, which have sought to diversify their sources of critical minerals.
As tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to simmer over trade issues, including tariffs imposed by Trump last year, China's restriction on the export of rare earths, essential for jet engines, radar systems, electric vehicles, laptops, and smartphones, serves as a stark reminder of the stakes.
"We don't want to ever go through what we went through a year ago," Trump said, referring to the recent trade standoff. "It did work out." The president expressed confidence that the government would make a profit from the loan used to fund the reserve.
The announcement has sparked optimism among industry experts, who see Project Vault as a vital step in securing America's supply chain resilience.
! creating a critical mineral reserve is like, super strategic thinking 
especially with China's dominance in the rare earth market, it's a game changer for American industries 
I mean who wants to be held hostage by one country's supply chain? not us, that's for sure 
this project vault thing has me so hyped! let's see some real action on this and get those critical minerals flowing 
think it's about time the US caught up on this 
been playing catch-up with China for years 
$12 billion is a decent start tho, but we'll see if they can actually make it happen 
and what's in it for them? not just about keeping America's industries afloat, that's for sure 
might be interesting to see how the other 11 countries join in and who ends up with the lion's share of control 
... but at least they're trying to secure our tech industries from China 
... it's like they learned the hard way that relying on one country for resources can be super sketchy 
... still, it's better than nothing 
... and hey, 11 more countries are joining in, so maybe this won't hurt anyone too much 
... do you guys think China will try to shut this down though? 
. We need to think about what our priorities are here - is it just about securing supply chains or is there something more at play? 
. It's just more debt for our government and we don't even know what kind of minerals they're gonna stash away. And $12 billion? That's a lot of cash 
.
I think it's kinda cool that the US is creating its own stockpile of critical minerals 
... we need to make sure our industries are protected from those global shortages 
... 11 new countries joining in is a big deal, right? 
But at the same time, I'm worried that this might lead to a bit of a "great wall" situation - China has been super good at controlling their supply chains for years, and now the US is building its own walls too 
What's gonna happen when there are bottlenecks or disruptions? Are we just swapping one problem for another?