ACQUISITION, CONGRESS, STRATEGY & POLICY DoD, White House Likely...

• ACQUISITION, CONGRESS, STRATEGY & POLICY

DoD, White House Likely To Fight Chinese Monopoly on Rare Earth Minerals
With an Executive Order and a new study due soon that promises to take a hard line against Chinese imports, the Trump administration is opening a new front, while protecting the US defense industry.


By PAUL MCLEARYon May 18, 2018 at 3:13 PM

https://breakingdefense.com/2018/05...ight-chinese-monopoly-on-rare-earth-minerals/

Excerpts
The review promises to be the most thorough look at the entirety of the manufacturing and production of defense materials ever attempted, involving several government agencies, surveys of large and small players in the supply chain, and a study of foreign materials used in the production of American weaponry.

The effects of the study, coupled with a related executive order signed by Trump in December, could very well open a new front in the burgeoning trade war with China.

China will likely loom large in the report, given the country’s dominance of the rare earth minerals market so critical to the U.S. defense industry, the pumping of billions in Chinese investments into U.S. tech startup firms, and the increasingly dominant protectionist philosophy of the Trump administration.

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More than fluff here. It's Trump driving it. Would be surprised if he didn't have plans in motion behind the scenes. Article mentions sole source vulnerability more than once. Mostly defense oriented. Could be looking at stockpiling.