CRITICAL MINERALS The U.S. Critical Minerals Dilemma: What to Know
Critical minerals play an essential role in security and technological competitiveness, but the United States relies heavily on imports from China and other foreign sources. The Trump administration is trying to change that.
In 2022, the U.S. government identified fifty minerals considered critical to the U.S. economy and national security. These minerals, such as cobalt and lithium, play essential roles in a variety of industries, including energy, defense, health care, and transportation. Yet despite their strategic importance, the United States remains heavily dependent on foreign imports for the majority of them.
China, in particular, is a top source, dominating refining capacity for cobalt, graphite, and rare earths. This kind of concentration of control has raised alarm in Washington, where the Donald Trump administration has sought to reduce U.S. reliance on overseas supply chains that experts say leave the United States vulnerable. In addition to promoting domestic extraction, the administration is applying diplomatic and economic pressure to expand U.S. access to critical minerals.
What are critical minerals and rare earth elements?
The U.S. government defines critical minerals as nonfuel minerals or materials that are essential to the country’s economic or national security and whose supply chain is vulnerable to disruption—this could be because of limited availability, lack of domestic production, or geopolitical risks. (The U.S. Geological Survey, or USGS, is required to update its list of critical minerals at least every three years.) Many of these minerals are crucial for a range of commercial industries, including automotive, aerospace, and technology, as well as military capabilities.
Among the most important are a group of seventeen metals known as rare earth elements (REEs). Despite their name, REEs are quite abundant in the Earth’s crust, but they are not typically found in concentrated deposits, making their extraction difficult.
Where does the United States source its critical minerals?
According to the 2025 USGS report [PDF], China supplies more than 50 percent of U.S. demand for twenty-one nonfuel mineral commodities—naturally occurring materials typically extracted via mining, such as copper and iron. Canada also supplies twenty-one such minerals, followed by Germany (eleven); Brazil (ten); and Japan, Mexico, and South Africa (seven, each). Data also shows that the United States is 100 percent import-dependent on twelve minerals classified by the U.S. government as critical, and more than 50 percent import-dependent on twenty-eight additional minerals.
