Trump Signs EO For More Rare Earth Metals

To lower dependency on China for vital resources, President Trump signed an executive order to increase mining of rare earth minerals here in the United States. We talked to an expert on why relying on China to get critical minerals could be a threat to the nation's security and the economy. President Trump signed an executive order to strengthen the country's domestic supply chain of rare earth metals, declaring it a national emergency. The order will increase domestic production of critical minerals to reduce dependency on China, which the President says is particularly concerning. Currently, the US imports 80 percent of its rare earth elements directly from China, with other portions of the materials indirectly provided by China through other countries. Vinh Vuong is a consultant to companies involved with rare earth minerals and Executive Chairman of VUONG Holdings. He says China's dominance in the rare minerals market is a threat to national security. "You know, minerals are in everything. From our iPhones, to defense grade systems, to even renewable energy. So it's very, very important that we do not let a really unethical, and a communist regime, and CCP-led China to own this because they will manipulate the market, they will jack up prices, they will cut us off even, especially when the tensions grow. So that's why we can't China," the consultant said. China has previously exploited other countries through the critical minerals market. In 2010, multiple companies were forced to place their factories in China after it suspended exports of processed rare earth elements to Japan. It threatened the country’s industrial and defense sectors and disrupted rare earth elements prices worldwide. Vuong says if the US gets a standing in the rare minerals market, it will work with foreign countries instead of exploiting them. "But what this executive order does is it really enables us to extract and process minerals from our allied nations, whether it's in Africa or South East Asia or wherever these key minerals are, be able to then send it to the US to do the final refining, so that unleashes a lot of potential," Vuong said. Vuong also said the executive order will ease government pressure on the mining industry, which will, in turn, increase jobs and boost the economy. Vuong said, "Because if we can do this in other industries, from agriculture and defense, why can't we do this for minerals, because arguably the minerals are one of the most important ones right now, one of the most important industries that has to be addressed." Companies involved in rare earth exploration and investment made some recent gains. According to Bloomberg, Kuantan, Malaysia-based Lynas Corp. rose more than 5%, while Fortress Value Acquisition Corp., a New York-based special purpose acquisition company, gained as much as 14%. Reporting by Don Tran