2. Challenges and issues

2.1 Reducing China's monopoly: creating jobs and strategic autonomy

In early 2022, two U.S. senators introduced a bill aimed at reducing U.S. dependence on China for the supply of rare earths. The bill would require the Departments of the Interior and Defense to create, by 2025, a "strategic reserve" of rare earths capable of meeting the essential needs of the military and priority infrastructure for 1 year, in the event of a disruption in the supply chain.

This risk does exist, as China regularly uses its position of strength as a means of pressure, as was the case in 2010, when it abruptly interrupted rare earth exports to Japan, following a territorial dispute.