Trump unveils $12bn critical minerals reserve in apparent move to counter China’s dominance

The Trump administration announced "Project Vault," a nearly $12 billion critical mineral reserve, to counter China's dominance in rare earth element mining and processing. The initiative, funded by a $10 billion loan from the US Export-Import Bank and $1.67 billion in private capital, aims to protect American businesses from supply chain disruptions. The reserve is modeled after the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and seeks to prevent future trade leverage by China, who controls a majority of the global rare earth market. The US Secretary of State will host a ministerial meeting with representatives from several countries to discuss critical minerals and improve supply chain logistics. The government-backed loan funding the reserve would be for a period of 15 years.

The Trump administration is launching "Project Vault," a $12 billion public-private initiative to reduce U.S. reliance on China for critical minerals. The project aims to create a large commercial stockpile to protect U.S. manufacturers from supply disruptions and price volatility of materials essential for electric vehicles, semiconductors, and other high-tech products. Anchored by a $10 billion loan from the US Export-Import Bank, the initiative also includes $1.67 billion in private capital from companies like General Motors, Stellantis, Boeing, Corning, GE Vernova and Alphabet’s Google. Project Vault is designed as a strategic reserve to ensure continuous production, marking the first commercial-scale strategic mineral reserve in the U.S.