The G7's 60% target is ambitious but not unrealistic — provided governments treat it as a floor that demands sustained action rather than a headline that substitutes for it. The architecture is clearer than it has ever been.
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Most U.S. policy to address our dependence on China for rare earths and permanent magnets has chipped away at the problem one link at a time. The Magnets Value Chain Support Act takes a different approach: establishing production incentives across the entire permanent magnet supply chain, from mining and refining through to the motors and defense systems that depend on them.
The House Armed Services Committee's FY 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) proposes an overhaul of the Department of War's critical materials sourcing requirements. For defense contractors, this creates a compliance system that is less static and more responsive to supply chain risk.
Last week’s attacks on two of the world’s largest aluminum smelters have increased fears that aluminum prices could persist. Combined with recent Iranian attacks on critical energy infrastructure throughout the Middle East, primary producers are in a precarious position—facing increased energy costs and damaged facilities. The aluminum market, which was already undergoing a structural realignment before the current conflict, is now teetering on a crisis.
When geopolitical crises erupt in the Middle East, Americans instinctively worry about oil. But the conflict in Iran is also disrupting military-grade aluminum supply chains dependent on Middle Eastern nations and the Strait of Hormuz.
The Trump Administration’s evolving approach to international collaboration provides additional space for U.S. leadership in shaping the global critical minerals agenda. New initiatives, such as FORGE and Pax Silica, alongside bilateral agreements and engagement through established platforms like the G7 and G7+, provide Washington with multiple entry points to advance strategic priorities and influence policy.
Electricity policy, not capital, is now the biggest constraint on domestic aluminum production. The Century–Emirates Global Aluminum announcement, although welcome and long overdue, is a reminder of how far policy must go to make the next wave of American industrial resurgence a reality.
Same as it ever was? Not this time. Foreign investment from a direct adversary won't end well.
Unlike aluminum and steel, the Trump administration is taking a different tack with critical minerals. President Trump is signaling concern for preserving access to processed minerals and derivatives as U.S. demand surges, processing capacity has been hollowed out, and new projects will not come online fast enough.
The U.S. aluminum industry is facing a critical juncture, balancing rising demand with dwindling supply. The U.S. Department of War $150 million investment into Atlantic Alumina to produce more than 1 million metric tons of alumina and up to 50 metric tons of gallium per year is a vital step towards achieving the Trump administration’s goals of a manufacturing resurgence, establishing supply chain security, and fortifying the defense industrial base.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) unveiled the highly anticipated 2025 List of Critical Minerals, an expanded catalog now covering 60 minerals deemed essential to U.S. economic and national security. The updated list and methodology offers a window into the key considerations shaping how policymakers assess risk and determine which supply chains warrant the most attention. We read the list and methodology, and break it down for you in our latest Fuse post, so you don't have to.
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