【By Observer News, Xiong Chaoran】The United States, which once arbitrarily "held others' throats", now also feels the pressure in the rare earth sector, with a group of members of Congress in a frenzy, anxious and worried.

According to a report by Hong Kong's South China Morning Post on November 20, during a hearing held by the U.S. House of Representatives' Select Committee on the U.S.-China Strategic Competition (referred to as the "China Committee") on the evening of November 19, some members of Congress called for the U.S. to change its strategy to reduce China's dominance in the supply of rare earth minerals. They believe that while President Trump is striving to accelerate domestic production, new methods are also needed, including developing new technologies and researching components that do not rely on key minerals.

The report said these suggestions came against the background of slow progress in U.S. mining and processing, with China actually controlling global prices, and the fact that new technologies that can replace rare earths in critical components will still take several years to emerge.

"We're just wasting our time. I really don't think we can compete with China on rare earths," Florida Republican Congressman Carlos Gimenez bluntly stated: "I think China is way ahead, and we can't catch up."

Florida Republican Congressman Carlos Gimenez, photo

According to the report, executives from three major American mining companies—rare earth miner MP Materials, Lithium Americas, and Niron Magnetics—were invited to testify at the hearing, mainly discussing China's dominance over global pricing and potential U.S. responses.

All three companies have received funding from the U.S. government, including grants or equity investments. In July this year, the U.S. Department of Defense invested $400 million in MP Materials in exchange for a 15% stake.

However, these company executives did not clearly answer how long it would take for the U.S. to become independent from China's supply, especially in the context of the recent one-year "truce agreement" between the two sides.

"I think even if we try, they (China) will take measures to ensure this fails, such as implementing embargoes or other means. At that point, we can only give up, and everything ends there," Gimenez believed that more attention should be paid to investment in alternatives.

The South China Morning Post pointed out that the background of this public hearing is the growing concern among Washington policymakers about relying on Chinese rare earth supplies, especially after China implemented rare earth export controls earlier this year. At the same time, it reflects the division within the U.S. domestic policy—whether to fully develop alternative technologies or merely try to catch up with China in the rare earth sector.

China produces most of the world's rare earths, which are essential for electric vehicles, electronic products, and defense components. In the context of Trump's global tariff war launched in April, this gives China leverage.

On the evening of November 16, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in an interview with Fox News morning program, said that the U.S. government hopes to finalize a deal to secure rare earth supplies with China before Thanksgiving at the end of November. She also expressed anxiety, fearing being "held by the throat" again, and threatened that the U.S. has many retaliatory measures if China changes its mind.

Raja Krishnamoorthi, a senior member of the Democratic Party on the "China Committee" and a U.S. Congressman from Illinois, claimed that it's time to take action similar to the "Manhattan Project" to end the U.S. reliance on Chinese rare earths.

He said at the hearing: "I think mining and processing more rare earths in the U.S. is only part of the solution; we also need alternatives that completely bypass rare earths."

Krishnamoorthi also showed a photo of a Chinese-American professor from the University of Minnesota, who is reportedly developing a rare earth replacement technology. He said: "If we want to break China's monopoly on rare earth magnets, we all need to participate. This means welcoming top talents from around the world, including China."

The report noted that Krishnamoorthi's remarks seem to subtly target Republicans. Previously, due to so-called "national security considerations," Republicans have strengthened scrutiny of Chinese researchers and students in the U.S. academic system. Analysts believe that this atmosphere might encourage more Chinese scientists to return to China.

According to the report, Niron Magnetics, based in Minnesota, is using a new technology called iron nitride to replace rare earth elements in magnet production, but expanding capacity still requires time and more funding.

"This won't happen overnight," said the company's CEO Jonathan Rowntree: "We are lucky that we have already scaled up from kilogram scale to ton scale."

In another report on November 10, the South China Morning Post pointed out that a series of recent actions by the U.S., including holding leaders' summits with resource-rich countries in Central Asia and expanding the list of "critical minerals" by the government, show that Washington is eager to reduce its dependence on Chinese rare earths before tensions between the U.S. and China escalate again.

Scholars have directly stated that the U.S. almost knocks on the door of every country in the world, as long as the U.S. believes that there are rare earths there.

A report by the Wall Street Journal pointed out that China's deterrent measures have indeed driven a revival of the Western rare earth industry to some extent. However, regardless of whether rebuilding the Western rare earth supply chain takes time, the industry has experienced multiple "false booms" before. The fact is that the rare earth industry outside China lacks experience and technical expertise.

This article is exclusive to Observer News. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

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