US Military Launches Unprecedented $1bn Critical Minerals Stockpile Amid China Export Restrictions

The Pentagon has launched an ambitious effort to procure up to $1bn worth of critical minerals as part of an accelerated stockpiling programme designed to counter Chinese control of materials essential to defence manufacturing.

The Trump administration's initiative challenges Chinese dominance of supply chain for metals essential to defence industry, with public filings from the Pentagon's Defense Logistics Agency revealing the scope of the procurement drive in recent months.

The initiative comes as China tightened export controls for critical rare-earth metals, with new restrictions announced by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce ahead of an expected meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and United States President Donald Trump's later this month.

China has imposed its most stringent rare earth and magnet export controls yet, restricting products with even trace Chinese content, bolstering its leverage ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting and heightening risks to U. S. defense and semiconductor supply chains. The timing underscores the strategic vulnerability facing American military manufacturers.

Critical minerals including rare earth elements are indispensable components across virtually every major weapon system. The F-35 fighter jet alone uses approximately 920 pounds of rare earth materials per unit, whilst American fighter jets, satellites, guided missiles, and submarines all rely on high-performance magnets built with rare earths like neodymium, samarium, and dysprosium.

The Pentagon's procurement strategy addresses a critical gap, as at its Cold War peak, the National Defense Stockpile held an inflation-adjusted $42 billion in critical reserves, but today it is valued under $1 billion and lacks usable quantities of the rare earth materials needed for rapid defense production.

The Trump administration has already taken significant steps through the Defense Production Act, with the Pentagon having invested $540 million so far to support a critical mineral and rare earth supply chain in the U. S. and allied nations.

In a landmark move, the Defense Department became the largest shareholder in rare-earth mining company MP Materials by buying $400 million of its stock and helping it build a new processing facility to sidestep the Chinese market.

The deal includes a minimum price guarantee of $110 per kilogram for 10 years for neodymium-praseodymium oxide that is stockpiled or sold by MP Materials.

America's dependence on foreign sources remains acute, with 70% of US imports of rare earth compounds and metals coming from China between 2020 and 2023.

China accounts for nearly 70% of the world's rare earths mining and controls roughly 90% of global rare earths processing, giving Beijing substantial leverage in trade negotiations.