White House Cuts Red Tape For U.S. Critical Minerals

The Trump Administration used the Defense Production Act as the basis for an Executive Order issued March 20, 2025 to sharply increase U.S. critical minerals production. Government agencies were given their marching orders, including directives to:

• Screen applications for critical mineral mining and refining projects for those that can be given immediate approval and expedited follow-up
• Solicit feedback from the industry to define any bottlenecks and derive strategies to expedite mining and refinement projects
• Review Federal Land usage to prioritize the leasing of lands that may be viable for critical minerals production
• Provide loans to businesses qualified to invest in approved projects

This Executive Order came on the heels of the creation of the National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC), chaired by Secretary of the Interior Doug Bergum, in mid-February. The Trump team is in a big hurry, and the pressure is on. There are good reasons for this, and the key one is China.

In December 2024, China banned the export of gallium, germanium, and antimony to the U.S. as a move in the escalating “chip war”. All three are used for semiconductors, telecommunications, and defense. On April 4^th, in response to the “Liberation Day” tariffs levied by the United States, China—which has a near-monopoly on the global processing of critical minerals—placed seven Rare Earth Elements (REEs) under export restrictions. This brought exports to a near-total halt as the conditions and protocols for Chinese companies to obtain permissions to export are formalized by the Government of China.

Additionally, Beijing placed sixteen U.S. companies on its export control list, all but one of them in defense and aerospace, which disallows them to receive “dual-use goods”, including the restricted REEs. These new export and controls have the potential to deny reliable supply to the U.S. defense, energy, communications, and auto industries. As CNN explained, “Magnets made of rare earths enable smaller, more efficient motors and generators used in smartphones, car and jet engines, and MRI machines. They are also essential components in a range of big-ticket weapons, from F-35 stealth fighter jets to nuclear-powered attack submarines.”

Building a reliable critical mineral supply chain has long been a declared priority for Washington, but to date, America still relies on China for a large portion of the supply and processing of these minerals, giving Beijing undue control over the resources fueling several important industries.

Existing Precedent for Using the Defense Production Act

The Defense Production Act of 1950, or DPA, was modeled after the World War II era War Powers Act, signed into law to give the president more control over domestic production of goods deemed to be in the interest of national defense. Some of the powers it granted were removed from the legislation when Congress allowed them to expire in 1953, but the DPA remains a powerful tool of the presidency.

In 2022, President Biden used the DPA to invest in the production of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology. In the presidential determination document, Biden justified the move by stating that a resilient energy sector was needed for the critical infrastructure and the strength of the nation, and much of Trump’s argument for his move is the same, only instead of solar panels, Trump is thinking of weapons.

The Minerals Are Only Becoming More Critical

The industrial growth of the early 20^th century, especially the buildup in arms production to meet the needs of World War I, caused the demand for critical minerals to substantially increase, and, by World War II, the market had skyrocketed. America was not keeping pace with the rest of the world’s production by the 1950s, and was forced to become an importer from producers like Bolivia and Zambia. Technological advances throughout the second half of the 20^th century and into the 21^st century have created a plethora of sectors, including energy, electronics, aerospace, and more, that need critical minerals to manufacture complex products. Many industries have reached the point that there is no way for them to operate without these minerals. Department of Defense officials went so far as to say in January that critical minerals are a part of “virtually every Defense Department system” and that maintaining a capable supply chain is necessary to maintaining national security.

The technological applications for critical minerals are numerous, and the growing renewables transition looks to be one of the major areas of use for them going forward. A report by the International Energy Agency in 2021 found that almost every significant type of sustainable technology requires at least one critical mineral. It also forecasted spikes in demand for critical minerals that could possibly double the 2020 demand by 2030 and triple it by 2040.

Today, the reliance on foreign production has become severe, to the point that 100% of American consumption of ten different critical minerals is imported and over 75% of eight more. Not only has the U.S. lost almost all control over its critical mineral sourcing, but China controls over 80% of the world’s rare earth processing capacity, making the United States heavily dependent on its primary competitor to sustain its most vital sectors.

The US environmental lobby and the NIMBY crowd also did not lose time. The process for opening new mines has been the subject of so much regulation that it currently takes twenty-nine years to open a new critical mineral mine, essentially killing the process of growing the American industry. To try to reduce this delay, the White House stipulated in its March 20th Executive Order that part of the effort will include the removal of “overbearing federal regulation” that has slowed the permitting and licensing process for mines.

Looking Ahead

Using the Defense Production Act to invest federal money in the critical mineral industry is a start towards revitalizing this key sector, and praise from mining-oriented states immediately began to come in with Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Pete Stauber (R-MN), and Bruce Westerman (R-AR) issuing statements commending President Trump’s decision. That being said, the United States has been behind the eight-ball in critical minerals mining for decades.

There is still much left to be decided about how exactly Defense Production Act powers will affect critical mineral production in America, but President Trump has primed the industry to boom over the coming years, if DoD and DoE money keeps pouring. The administration’s goal to address the National Energy Emergency is clearly high on its agenda, but doing so successfully will require a sustained effort to open mines and create critical mineral processing capacity outside of China. Only with US Government leadership and cooperation with the private sector, and cooperation with America’s allies this vital national security goal is possible to achieve.

Liam Humphrey contributed to the production of this article.