Trump administration to unveil $12 billion push to curb China’s grip on critical minerals

Seeking to blunt China’s dominance over critical minerals that underpin hi-tech manufacturing, the administration of US President Donald Trump is rolling out a slate of measures this week aimed at reducing US reliance on Beijing.A White House official has confirmed to the China-morning-post" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="12558" data-entity-type="organization">South China Morning Post that Trump will be launching a US$12 billion public-private initiative to build a large commercial stockpile of critical minerals titled “Project Vault”.The project is being billed as a strategic reserve designed to shield US manufacturers from supply disruptions and price volatility in materials essential for electric vehicles, semiconductors, jet engines and consumer electronics.The initiative is anchored by a US$10 billion, 15-year loan from the US Export-Import Bank, the largest in the agency’s history, alongside US$1.67 billion in private capital from participating companies, the official confirmed.The firms include General Motors, Stellantis, Boeing, Corning, GE Vernova and Alphabet’s Google.08:58What are rare earths, and why is China’s dominance facing global pushbackWhat are rare earths, and why is China’s dominance facing global pushbackProject Vault is intended to act as a shock absorber, preventing production lines from grinding to a halt. Up until now, the US approach to stockpiling minerals has been strictly military-first. This is the first commercial-scale strategic reserve.