Protect the supply lines. This is a fundamental military tenet. Cut the supply lines and an adversary is weakened, vulnerable, paralyzed. This rudimentary principle also applies to our current high stakes trade war with China. Tariffs have been imposed, harsh words exchanged, and supply lines have been cut.
Unfortunately, there is no more relevant example of supply line vulnerability than China’s decision to suspend the export of critical rare earth metals and rare earth permanent magnets. Currently, China mines, processes and supplies the world with almost all rare earth metals, including 90 percent of permanent magnets made with rare earths.
China’s willingness to use its monopoly power to exercise leverage over the global supply of rare earth metals and permanent magnets is a serious threat to U.S. economic and national security. China claims it will eventually establish an export licensing system, but regardless the U.S. is vulnerable and dependent upon an adversary for critical rare earth metals and permanent magnets. This exposure and risk is unacceptable.
Let’s be clear, we are not referring to the magnets we have on our refrigerators for the coupon, recipe or the most recent school photo. Rare earth permanent magnets are essential to the automotive, aerospace and consumer electronic industries, as well as virtually all advanced defense capabilities. Almost every major defense system, from fighter jet engines, precision guidance munitions, military vehicles, radar jammers, satellite radios, power generators, and countless other national security applications require rare earth permanent magnets.
The U.S. must act with urgency to address its rare earth vulnerability. We must focus on establishing supply chain security, onshoring processing and manufacturing, and a strategic commitment to protecting the defense industrial base. Congress knew this vulnerability existed when it passed legislation in 2023 and 2024 directing the Department of Defense to invest in developing a vertically integrated rare earth supply chain in the U.S., along with identifying alternatives to rare earth permanent magnets. This was a modest start, but we are now in a crisis.
Immediate action is needed from the departments of Commerce, Defense and Energy to develop a comprehensive strategy for rare earth independence that includes massive investments to secure supply and to research, develop and manufacture alternatives.
Alternatives do exist. Minnesota is the home to the only company in the world, Niron Magnetics, producing rare-earth free powerful permanent magnets made from iron nitride — a compound derived from iron and nitrogen. These are two domestically available and limitless resources.
Other alternatives such as manganese-based compounds and nanocomposite magnets are also rapidly developing. Each of these alternatives does not merely reduce our dependence on rare earth supply chains; they also have added performance benefits that can enable next-generation defense capabilities.
Iron nitride, for example, is the most magnetic material known to science, which can be used to create more efficient motors and electronics for commercial and defense systems. Manganese-bismuth magnets, meanwhile, show excellent performance at high temperatures, making them suitable for certain military applications such as hypersonic missiles, where heat resistance is crucial.
These alternatives are not theoretical. The technology to secure the supply chain using alternatives magnets, starting with the defense industrial base, exists today. However, we need a public-private partnership — federal funding and private investment — to build the manufacturing infrastructure and train the workforce to achieve permanent magnet independence from China.
The CHIPS and Science Act became law in 2022 to invest in building the U.S. capacity to manufacture semiconductors to reduce foreign dependence for microelectronics. The same economic and national security imperative exists today for permanent magnets. To sustain critical sectors of our economy, the U.S. needs an emergency response combined with a long-term diversified approach that supports the scaled production of both conventional and alternative permanent magnets. This dual-track strategy reduces single points of failure and enhances our ability to respond nimbly to geopolitical shifts while de-leveraging potential adversaries.
Unlike many issues facing our nation today, protecting the supply lines should not be divisive — it is essential. We must act now with bipartisan leadership in Congress and support from the White House. We need the commitment to address this critical supply chain vulnerability and will push for immediate funding for domestic rare earth alternatives. The strength of our military, economic competitiveness and the security of our nation depend on it.
Betty McCollum is ranking member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and Brad Finstad is a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
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