Pini Althaus | Source | Director and CEO at USA Rare Earth

China, which produces the bulk of the world’s supply of rare earths, has been using much of its own to set up domestic supply chains, causing exports to dwindle in recent months. Without those minerals, the United States cannot manufacture quantum computers, deploy a 5G network or make electric vehicles, he said.

We applaud President Biden’s urgency to assess and build additional U.S. capacity across the transportation, energy and defense industrial base. Rare earths and critical minerals, including lithium, are essential to modern technology and require a robust, resilient strategy for U.S. advanced manufacturing and national security. Round Top touches three of the four vital products leading the EO today, including for semiconductors and electric vehicle batteries.

There is not enough lithium being produced in the U.S. to support new electric vehicle battery manufacturing. Outside of the non-China supply chain, there are not enough materials now for one electric vehicle manufacturer, let alone all of the electric vehicle manufacturers in the world.