The United States has made no progress to decrease its dependence on China for metals and materials that are critical to our national security and defense, according to a narrowly-circulated report from the Department of Defense. With President Trump vowing to deal more aggressively with China on trade matters, possible Chinese export restrictions on critical metals like rare earths have again been raised. Also expected to testify are representatives of mining and energy companies that hope Trump will encourage domestic production of rare earths and other critical metals, which exist in abundance under American soil. When, in 2015, the WTO ruled in favor of the United States, China removed its quotas. It also exposed American reliance on Beijing exports of rare earths and rang alarm bells in the defense establishment.

Source: Fox News March 27, 2017 16:41 UTC