Foreign Policy: Why Is Trump So Obsessed With Crucial Minerals?

They are critical to the defense and energy industries.

The return of Donald Trump to the White House has raised questions among experts because of his unpredictable foreign policy. However, as Christina Lu of Foreign Policy writes, there is one goal behind his actions: securing access to supply chains for strategic minerals free from Chinese influence (translated by Charter97.org).

Strategic minerals, including lithium and rare earth elements, are critical to the defense and energy industries, from microchips to F-35 fighter jets. The U.S. is now heavily dependent on China, which controls most of the global rare earth market.

The Trump administration is actively developing its own mining and alternative supply chains. The focus is on resource-rich countries like Canada, Greenland and even Ukraine. Trump has even advocated buying Greenland, an autonomous region of Denmark rich in rare earth elements. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has remarked that U.S. attention to their country is tied to mineral resources.

Interest has also been aroused in Ukraine, where President Vladimir Zelensky has suggested exchanging rare earths for U.S. military support. However, experts doubt Ukraine's real reserves, and also emphasize the difficulties and long periods of development of the mining industry, especially in the conditions of war.

The problem is not only in mining - to be independent, the US needs to develop the whole chain: processing and production. Right now, China dominates in this respect. According to analysts, the race for strategic minerals is a complex and long-term process, and the current hype around Ukraine and other countries is more of a political move than a real opportunity for rapid diversification.

So strategic minerals are becoming a key factor in the economic and military competition between the US and China.

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