U.S. rare earth imports by country of origin 2018-2021

Between 2018 and 2021, 74 percent of rare earth imports into the United States originated from China. Malaysia and Estonia accounted for another eight and five percent, respectively during that timeframe.

Rare earth industry

Rare earths include minerals such as scandium, yttrium, and lanthanides and range in abundance in their presence in the Earth’s crust. The problem is that they are dispersed and often it is difficult to find economically exploitable deposits. Rare earths are commonly used in a variety of industries and are essential in manufacturing cellphones, missile systems, and hybrid car batteries among others.

China's rare earths industry

China is the world's largest producer of rare earths by a large margin. Accordingly, many countries are dependent on rare earths imports from China to meet their needs, much like the United States. This dependency has caused some market volatility. In 2010, China announced a decrease in their rare earth quota and prices increased dramatically. Prices soared from 13.13 U.S. dollars per kilogram in the first quarter of 2010 to almost 60 U.S. dollars per kilogram at the end of October 2010. In 2015, the quota was abolished. However, during the scare, there was never a shortage and in fact, there is now a surplus of many of the minerals. In 2022, China's rare earths production amounted to a total of some 210,000 metric tons. As of 2022, the country was estimated to have about 44 million metric tons of rare earth oxides (REO) in reserves.