A bipartisan group of lawmakers proposed creating a new agency with $2.5 billion to spur production of rare earths and other critical minerals, as the Trump administration takes steps aimed at reducing U.S. reliance on China. The bill was introduced by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, and Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, and would be paired with a House version by Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Virginia.
The proposal would establish an independent body charged with building a stockpile of critical minerals and related products, stabilizing prices, and encouraging domestic and allied production, with the goal of securing supplies for both the military and the broader economy and manufacturers. Shaheen said the legislation is “a historic investment” intended to make the U.S. economy more resilient against China’s dominance, which she said has left the U.S. vulnerable to economic coercion.
Young said the plan to create the new reserve is “a much-needed, aggressive step to protect our national and economic security.” The bill would focus on reducing the leverage Beijing has been able to exert through its position in the critical-minerals market, which the AP report described as crucial to high-tech products ranging from cellphones to electric vehicles and defense systems.
The push for a new approach comes as the U.S. and China have been navigating a broader trade conflict. The AP report said that when Trump imposed widespread tariffs last spring, China responded with tit-for-tat tariffs and severe restrictions on the export of critical minerals. It said the two leaders agreed in October to a one-year truce under which Beijing would continue exporting critical minerals while the U.S. would ease its export controls on U.S. technology to China.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has accelerated its own efforts, the report said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking at SpaceX, revealed that in the past five months the Pentagon had “deployed over $4.5 billion in capital commitments” to close six critical minerals deals intended to “help free the United States from market manipulation.” The AP report said the Pentagon has deployed nearly $5 billion over the past year overall to help ensure access to critical minerals after the trade war highlighted how dependent the U.S. is on China’s processing capacity.
One deal described by the AP includes $150 million of preferred equity by the Pentagon in Atlantic Alumina Co., with the report saying the investment is meant to save the country’s last alumina refinery and build its first large-scale gallium production facility in Louisiana. The report also said the Pentagon previously announced it would buy $400 million of preferred stock in MP Materials, which it described as owning the country’s only operational rare earths mine at Mountain Pass, California, and that it entered into a $1.4-billion joint partnership with ReElement Technologies Corp. to build a domestic supply chain for rare earth magnets.
In addition to the deals, the AP report said the Trump administration has begun taking equity stakes in some critical mineral companies and, in some cases, guaranteeing the price of certain commodities—an approach some analysts said resembles tactics used by China. Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, said in that context that “Reshoring manufacturing that’s critical to our national and economic security is a top priority for the Trump administration.”
The administration has also used other tools in its effort to reduce foreign sourcing. The AP report said Trump announced in a proclamation that the U.S. is “too reliant” on foreign-sourced critical minerals and directed his administration to negotiate better deals, including possible remedies such as minimum import prices for certain critical minerals.
Some researchers and industry figures welcomed the shift in government involvement. Elly Rostoum, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis, wrote that “Despite the dangers of political interference, the strategic logic is compelling,” and suggested the new model could be “a prudent way for the U.S. to ensure strategic autonomy and industrial sovereignty.” Industry officials also praised the direction described by the administration; NioCorp Chief Communications Officer Jim Sims said Trump is “playing three-dimensional chess on critical minerals like no previous president has done,” adding that it was “about time” given military and strategic vulnerabilities created by having to import the materials.
Sims also said NioCorp is trying to finish raising money needed to build a mine in southeast Nebraska. The AP report said the administration has also sought help through allies, including a stated mining agreement with Australia: it said Trump signed an $8.5 billion agreement with Australia in October and is seeking to expand extraction opportunities that it linked to Greenland.
In parallel with the congressional proposals and Pentagon investments, the administration has pursued allied coordination at the government level. The AP report said that on Monday, finance ministers from the G7 nations met in Washington over vulnerabilities in critical mineral supply chains, and that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged attendees to increase supply chain resiliency and thanked them for their willingness to work together “toward decisive action and lasting solutions,” according to a Treasury statement.
The Shaheen-Young bill would encourage both domestic and allied production, the AP report said, reflecting a broader effort to reduce the impact of China’s market control on U.S. defense and manufacturing needs. The AP report also noted that congressional and administration efforts in past years have repeatedly treated critical minerals as a strategic concern, but described the current push as larger and more direct than earlier incentives, particularly after China eased access to critical minerals following earlier policy actions.