Can the U.S. Catch Up in the Critical Minerals Race?

WSJ What’s News

The Wall Street Journal

News, Daily News

4 • 4K Ratings

🗓️ 8 June 2025

⏱️ 14 minutes

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Summary

The U.S. is already scrambling to catch up with its number-one rival, China, in the race to secure critical materials. But can the Trump administration bring more mining and processing under U.S. control? WSJ senior reporter John Emont and Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Mineral Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discuss the economic and security implications of these minerals, the challenges to scaling up U.S. mining interests and the policies that might unlock both supply and demand for domestically produced critical minerals. Kate Bullivant hosts. Further Reading: Critical Minerals Supply Risks Mount Amid China’s Grip, Export Curbs America’s War Machine Runs on Rare-Earth Magnets. China Owns That Market. Why the U.S. Keeps Losing to China in the Battle Over Critical Minerals Automakers Race to Find Workaround to China’s Stranglehold on Rare-Earth Magnets Trump Says He Discussed Trade, Rare Earths in Call With China’s Xi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:22.1	Tell Congress to guard your card because Americans lose when politicians choose. Learn more at
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0:30.9	Hey, what's news listeners. It's Sunday, June 8th. I'm Kate Boulavent for the Wall Street Journal.
0:36.9	This is What's News Sunday, the show where
0:39.6	we tackle the big questions about the biggest stories in the news by reaching out to our colleagues
0:45.0	across the newsroom to help explain what's happening in our world. On today's show, the race to
0:51.0	secure critical minerals is well underway, and the U.S. is scrambling to catch up
0:56.0	with its number one rival China in a race with major national security implications.
1:01.8	These minerals play a key role in many modern technologies, from fighter jets and semiconductors
1:07.4	to smartphones and electric vehicle batteries. Since returning to the White House, President Trump has made securing supply chains for these minerals a top priority.
1:17.6	Today, we look at whether Trump's strategy to put the US back in first place is working.
1:23.6	Back in 2020, President Trump declared a national emergency over US dependence on foreign critical minerals.
1:32.5	Fast forward to today and a recent report from the International Energy Agency shows that China continues to dominate,
1:39.7	accounting for up to roughly 80% of global supply growth of copper and lithium between 2020 and 2024.
1:49.0	Despite lots of talk from Washington, setting up global supply chains is hard work, especially when doing so isn't necessarily lucrative for businesses.
1:58.9	Joining me now to put this all into context is journal senior reporter John Emont and
2:03.9	Graceland Baskerin, who is the director of the Critical Mineral Security Program at CSIS,
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