Trump's rare earth agenda hits milestone as US Army moves to break China's grip on defense metals

President Donald Trump's push to rebuild a domestic rare earth supply chain reached another milestone as the U.S. Army partners with industry to expand North American processing capacity for materials used in military equipment, as part of a broader effort to reduce reliance on China.

REalloys CEO Leonard "Lipi" Sternheim joined FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo on "Mornings with Maria" to discuss the company's role in developing heavy rare earth processing capabilities alongside government and industry partners.

Heavy rare earth elements such as dysprosium and terbium are essential components in advanced defense technologies, including fighter jets, missiles, submarines and drones. While rare earth deposits exist in multiple countries, much of the world's processing and refining capacity has been concentrated in China for decades.

"Currently, China controls the entire supply chain of rare earths for heavies, which is where the processing, the refining, the metalizing magnet making," Sternheim said, adding that REalloys is focused on bringing "the full supply chain" to North America.

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Sternheim said an upcoming federal procurement requirement scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027, is expected to accelerate domestic sourcing for the defense industrial base by restricting products with a Chinese nexus.

He also argued that the challenge is less about finding rare earth deposits than rebuilding the refining and processing expertise needed to turn raw materials into usable products.

"It's not the rocks that are rare. It's the processing and refining, which are complicated technologies," Sternheim said.

He noted the U.S. Army's partnership with REalloys is designed to ensure critical defense materials can be sourced domestically rather than from geopolitical rivals.

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"The reason the military partnership is so important, because that gives the country the security it needs. Nothing is reliant on other countries after that. We're building it here. We're building it with a partnership with the Army on their bases," he said.

Looking ahead, Sternheim said expanding domestic capacity will take time but expressed confidence that the U.S. and its partners will make meaningful progress over the next several years.

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