Trump urges U.S. to reclaim critical mineral refining from Chinese control

The article argues that while the U.S. is reopening mines, the real bottleneck in critical mineral supply chains is the refining stage, which is dominated by China.

Efforts by the Trump administration to revive American mining of critical minerals are praised, yet the author contends that the true vulnerability lies in the downstream refining sector, where China holds overwhelming sway. Decades of Chinese investment in processing plants and strategic debt deals have given Beijing the power to dictate global prices, as shown by the 2024 antimony export curbs that spiked costs worldwide.

Minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite are still shipped to China for conversion into battery-grade material before returning to U.S. manufacturers. To break this dependence, the piece calls for federal offtake agreements that favor domestically refined inputs, the protection of nascent U.S. refining projects, and the expansion of the EXIM Bank’s Project Vault strategic reserve. It also urges closing loopholes in the 45X tax credit that let Chinese-linked firms qualify for subsidies. Ultimately, without a concerted push to build refining capacity, the United States will remain exposed to supply shocks originating in Beijing.