Despite Its Own Critical Minerals, the US Relies Quite Heavily on China’s
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Navigating Washington: Insights for Business

Global Economy Briefs

Timely insights from the Economy, Strategy & Finance Center

Despite Its Own Critical Minerals, the US Relies Quite Heavily on China’s

April 17, 2025

On April 15, the President signed an executive order launching an investigation into the United States’ dependency on processed critical minerals imports. Days earlier, China had retaliated against the increase in tariffs on Chinese imports by restricting the exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets.

Why it matters: Critical minerals such as cobalt and lithium are essential elements for batteries, consumer electronics, advanced medical devices, and weapons systems:

  • The US Geological Survey (USGS) defines 50 mineral commodities as “critical” for the US economy and national security. 
  • There are also concerns about the 17 rare earth elements (REE), substances that exist in very low concentrations in the soil but that have played an outsized role in the development of highly specialized electronics devices and consumer products such as smart phones. 
  • While the US has significant underground deposits of many of these materials, little to no mining takes place domestically and the country is increasingly dependent on China and other
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Author

Alexander Heil, PhD

Alexander Heil, PhD

Senior Economist

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