Biden Seeks to Boost Rare Earth Element Extraction in U.S.
- White House, California Governor jointly announce investment
- Biden says move is not ‘anti-China’ but ‘pro-America’
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President Joe Biden announced the U.S. will give $35 million to MP Materials Corp. to process heavy rare earth elements at a facility in Southern California as part of a bigger push to challenge foreign dominance in a critical field.
The U.S. has lagged far behind countries like China and Canada in extracting lithium, cobalt, and rare-earth elements that are crucial to the manufacture of modern electronics. Officials say that dependence on foreign trade has created national security and economic vulnerabilities.