This week during his tour of Asia, the US president made a number of agreements.
President Donald Trump has prioritized rare earth minerals in his top priorities since returning to the White House earlier this year.
He wants to ensure that the US economy has enough supply.
Trump went so far as to sign an executive order in March that upheld wartime authority to boost production of rare earths.
In an effort to obtain the minerals, he also signed a number of agreements with Asian nations this week.
All of this is to counteract Beijing’s recent restrictions on rare earth exports and China’s global dominance in this area.
Why, then, do these minerals matter so much to the US economy? And can Trump’s monopoly over China be overturned?
Presenter: Bernard Smith
Guests:
University of Hong Kong assistant professor of philosophy, Brian Wong.
Gracelin Baskaran, Director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Critical Minerals Security program, is an economist and mining economist.
Published On 29 Oct 2025
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply