Trump Launches $12 Billion U.S. Rare‑Earths Stockpile to Curb China Reliance
7d
Developing
2
President Trump announced "Project Vault," a roughly $12 billion rare‑earth strategic reserve funded by a $10 billion Export‑Import Bank loan plus about $1.67 billion in private capital, with the EXIM loan running 15 years and the reserve explicitly modeled on the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The Oval Office rollout — attended by GM CEO Mary Barra and mining billionaire Robert Friedland — was presented as a move to curb reliance on China after last year’s export restrictions, with plans for a State Department ministerial hosted by Secretary Marco Rubio (keynoted by VP J.D. Vance) to pursue bilateral supply‑chain agreements with European, African and Asian partners, and the administration saying the government will profit while continuing support for non‑Chinese producers such as MP Materials, Vulcan Elements and USA Rare Earth.
U.S. Industrial Policy and Critical Minerals
China–U.S. Economic Competition
Critical Minerals & Rare Earths