Securing Critical Raw Materials: A Smarter Path for the United States
To secure critical raw materials and reduce reliance on foreign sources, the United States should prioritize domestic extraction and recovery while deepening coordination with trusted allies.
As the global race for critical raw materials heats up, the United States finds itself navigating an increasingly complex geopolitical terrain. The Trump administration is pursuing access to Ukrainian mineral reserves through a joint minerals deal still under bilateral negotiation, running parallel with U.S.–Russia ceasefire talks, underscoring the high geopolitical stakes tied to these critical resources.
The Trump administration has also revisited the idea of securing resources in Greenland, a move that has unsettled European allies and stirred unease across the Atlantic, further signaling that the race for critical materials could be escalating.
These resources, such as lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements, and more, are vital for powering clean energy systems, building the hardware for artificial intelligence, and developing defense technologies. But there is a catch: sourcing these materials from unstable regions risks pulling the United States into volatile political situations and potentially triggering new geopolitical tensions with unpredictable consequences.
Turning Inward
Instead of doubling down on overseas ventures that carry high geopolitical risk, there are smarter and more sustainable pathways: turning inward and investing in a circular economy approach to critical materials. The United States has untapped potential in both domestic resource extraction of critical raw materials and, more importantly, in resource recovery.
On the first point, President Trump issued a new executive order, Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production, that uses emergency powers to streamline permitting, ramp up investment in mining operations, and boost U.S. production. It uses the Defense Production Act (DPA), a wartime tool traditionally reserved for directing industrial output to meet defense needs, underscoring the strategic urgency of securing critical materials.
To create resilient and secure supply chains for critical raw materials, simply expanding domestic mining will likely not be enough. A single executive order, while symbolically important, will not generate the scale of investment, innovation, or coordination the industry needs. While increasing domestic extraction can help reduce dependence on foreign sources, it involves a long, costly, and often controversial permitting process. What is needed is a broader, more strategic approach that goes beyond just digging more resources out of the ground.
On the second point, transforming how the United States secures critical materials will require sustained policy support, including incentives for recovery and recycling. Take rare earth elements, for example. Currently, rare earths are largely sourced from China, which supplies around 70 percent, and are essential for electric vehicles, wind turbines, smartphones, and advanced weapons systems. A recent study published by the University of Texas revealed a staggering $8.4 billion worth of rare earth elements sitting in U.S. coal ash landfills—eleven million tons, which is nearly eight times the country’s known domestic reserves. Coal ash has been considered an industrial waste, but it is an overlooked domestic resource with the potential to secure critical supply chains without entangling the United States in foreign conflicts.
Building a Circular Economy
This recovery of industrial waste products is situated with the broader concept of the circular economy—it reframes how we view waste and end-of-life products, not as problems to dispose of but as sources of valuable secondary raw materials. Recycling rare earths and other critical raw materials from retired wind turbines, batteries, consumer electronics, and even coal byproducts will play a major role in reducing import dependence.
The year 2025 could be when a good share of recycled rare earth elements and other critical raw materials in the United States come directly from clean technologies. At the state level, several U.S. states are beginning to introduce new recycling requirements for components containing these materials. Starting July 1, 2025, Washington State will mandate that manufacturers offer recycling for solar modules at no cost to owners. But the right infrastructure and incentives will not take shape on their own. What’s needed is a strong federal policy commitment to build that foundation and drive coordinated action across industries and government.
Strengthening Domestic Resilience and Global Partnerships
By developing a robust domestic recycling industry and tapping into unconventional resources, the United States can not only secure critical materials but also lead the way in sustainable innovation. This approach also has the added benefit of job creation and contributes to growth. A 2023 study identified circular economy opportunities that could cut raw material costs and unlock $883 billion to $1.5 trillion in new revenue and economic value in key industry sectors: electric vehicles (EV) and battery manufacturing, the built environment, and the electronic equipment sector. It would also contribute to a more resilient industrial base—one that is less vulnerable to international supply shocks or diplomatic fallout.
But this effort cannot be domestic only. Strengthening critical minerals supply chain security also means working more closely with allies and trusted partners. The European Union and the United Kingdom are already advancing policies around circularity and critical materials. For example, the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) aims to increase the recycling of critical raw materials, with a target of at least 25 percent of the EU’s annual consumption to be sourced from recycling by 2030. The United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have an opportunity to align their critical raw material strategies by developing joint standards for secondary materials, coordinating research and innovation, and creating a transparent, rules-based market for recycled inputs.
Together, these steps would form a foundation for a new kind of industrial system, one that sees critical raw materials not just as commodities to extract but as assets to preserve long-term through stewardship, cycle, and strategic management. That is the level of ambition needed to meet both national security and resource security goals.
Dr. Patrick Schröder is a senior research fellow at Chatham House. His research focuses on international cooperation mechanisms for the transition to a global circular economy. He currently serves as a coordinating lead author for UNEP’s Global Environmental Outlook. He holds a BA (Hons) in Chinese from the University of Westminster and earned his MA in international relations and PhD in environmental studies from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
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