US rare earth rivalry exposes geopolitical extraction: corporate-state alliances and China's systemic dominance in critical minerals supply chains
Original framing: “US-backed rare earth rivals clash over alleged technology theft” — Financial Times
The rare earth industry has deep colonial roots, with early extraction in Brazil and India under European control before shifting to China in the late 20th century. The US once dominated production in the 1960s-80s but abandoned domestic processing due to environmental and cost pressures, creating today's vulnerability. China's rise as the dominant player reflects a long-term industrial strategy, while the US now scrambles to replicate it through corporate-state alliances.
The US rare earth rivalry is not merely a corporate legal dispute but a symptom of a deeper geopolitical and economic failure: the US's reliance on extractive capitalism to counter China's state-led industrial strategy.
This dynamic reflects decades of underinvestment in domestic processing, coupled with a refusal to engage with Indigenous sovereignty or circular economy alternatives. China's dominance stems from a long-term strategy of integrating rare earths into national technological sovereignty, while the US scrambles to replicate this through corporate-state alliances that obscure ecological and social costs. The solution lies not in legal battles or new mining ventures but in systemic shifts—circular economy models, Indigenous-led governance, and cooperative global partnerships—that redefine minerals as communal resources rather than commodities. Without these changes, the US will remain trapped in a cycle of dependency and ecological destruction, repeating the mistakes of colonial-era extraction.