US to launch $12-bn critical minerals stockpile to ease China reliance

by AFP Staff Writers
Washington, United States (AFP) Feb 2, 2026

The United States is expected to launch a critical minerals stockpile with $12 billion in initial funding, a White House official confirmed Monday, as Washington seeks to lower reliance on China for rare earths and other resources.

The project, which was first reported on by Bloomberg, is anticipated to bring together some $1.7 billion in private capital and a $10 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM).

This would go towards securing and storing the key minerals for businesses like automakers and tech companies -- forming a stockpile for the US private sector -- the White House official confirmed on condition of anonymity.

Rare-earth metals, which are crucial in the production of everything from smartphones to fighter jets and electric cars, have become a strategic bargaining chip since major producer China introduced restrictions on exports last year.

China's dominance in the rare earths industry, from natural reserves and mining through processing and innovation, is the result of a decades-long drive.

This has now provided Beijing with important leverage in trade talks with President Donald Trump's administration.

The stockpile that Trump is set to announce is aimed at blunting this effect over time.

It is expected to cover both rare earths and critical minerals, alongside other important elements that might see price volatility, Bloomberg reported.

The report added that more than a dozen companies including automakers General Motors and Stellantis, aviation behemoth Boeing and tech giant Alphabet's Google, are taking part in the initiative dubbed "Project Vault."

China's export restrictions have raised alarm bells in the United States as the world's two biggest economies again crossed swords with escalating tariffs after Trump returned to the presidency last year.

Washington and its allies are now racing to develop alternative mining and processing supply chains.

But experts warn that this process will likely take years to complete.

The EXIM Bank is expected to vote Monday to authorize the 15-year loan, Bloomberg reported, noting that this would be a record-setting deal.

EU will struggle to secure key raw materials supply, warns report
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Feb 2, 2026 - The European Union must step up its efforts to secure supplies of critical raw materials by 2030 if it wants to break its dependence on foreign countries and meet its climate goals, a watchdog warned on Monday.

Raw materials such as lithium, nickel and cobalt are essential for electronic goods such as batteries and wind turbines and needed for the EU's green transition.

Brussels wants more European production to avoid a repeat of the supply shocks seen during the Covid pandemic or after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It also seeks to challenge Beijing's stranglehold on critical materials which threatens key EU industries.

But the 27-country bloc is struggling to diversify its imports of the key materials, ramp up domestic production, and recycling is "still in its infancy", according to a report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA).

The EU needs to secure the supply of such minerals to meet its energy and climate goals -- with a target of climate neutrality by 2050.

The study analysed the EU's efforts after the adoption of the Critical Raw Materials Act in 2024, aimed at ensuring the long-term secure supply of 26 minerals necessary for Europe's energy transition.

The law set several non-binding targets:

-- the EU must meet 10 percent of its extraction needs, 40 percent of its processing and 25 percent of its recycling needs for each strategic material

-- the bloc must not rely on any one non-EU country for more than 65 percent of its strategic raw material needs.

The auditors said "there is still a long way to go to meet the targets".

When the law was adopted, domestic mining capacity for the strategic raw materials accounted for around eight percent of the 27-country EU's annual consumption.

Meanwhile EU processing accounted for 24 percent of its needs and 12 percent of its recycling capacity, the ECA said.

For example, China supplies 97 percent of the EU's magnesium, used in hydrogen-generating electrolysers while Turkey provides 99 percent of the bloc's boron, used in solar panels.

Meanwhile, Chile supplies 79 percent of the EU's lithium, used in batteries for electric cars.

"We are now dangerously dependent on a handful of countries outside the EU for the supply of these materials," said the ECA's Keit Pentus-Rosimannus.

"It is therefore vital for the EU to up its game and reduce its vulnerability in this area," Pentus-Rosimannus said.

Brussels has focused on diversifying imports through strategic partnerships on raw materials. But despite signing 14 of them, the ECA found imports fell between 2020 and 2024 for around half of the raw materials examined.