President Trump announced that the United States will set up a stockpile of rare earths and critical minerals called Project Vault to be funded in part by $1.67 private capital and in part by a loan of $10 billion from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, which I guess means that the U.S. is loaning money to itself for the reserve (CNBC, February 2, 2026).
Trump’s move is aimed at cutting America’s dependence on China for materials essential to electric vehicles, defense systems and advanced technology….
USA Rare Earth has already held discussions with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, pitching its domestic mining and magnet assets to the federal government. Those talks would ultimately lead to a proposed deal that could provide the company with about $1.6 billion in funding, subject to certain conditions, and include a U.S. government equity stake.
The moves build on a more direct role Washington has begun taking in the sector. The Department of Defense struck a landmark agreement with MP Materials last summer that included an equity stake, price floor, and long-term agreement to buy a specific amount of rare earth minerals and magnets.
CBS News recalls that Trump “has shown intense interest in critical and rare earth minerals, trying to boost the United States’ acquisition of them and make the U.S. less reliant on other countries. According to the White House, in 2024 the U.S. was entirely reliant on imports for 12 critical minerals, and imported 50% or more of 29 others.”
The Trump administration is promoting domestic development, which has been held back in great part by onerous regulations. But the administration is less concerned about slashing imports of the minerals from “other countries” in general than from such specific other countries as China, on which the U.S. should not be relying for stuff with military and other critical uses. China has proved its willingness to reduce or stop exports to the U.S. of various critical minerals, the mining and especially processing of which it dominates globally, as a means of extracting concessions in trade talks with the U.S.
CBS News itself confirms the distinction when it notes that Trump “has made critical minerals a negotiation point with countries including Ukraine and Australia, and has expressed a desire to secure Greenland’s critical minerals.” The president wants the U.S. to rely less on enemy countries and more on itself and on non-enemy countries.
