The United States is scrambling to break China’s chokehold on critical minerals. From government equity stakes to fast-track permits for deep sea mining, the Trump administration is racing to access the essential elements for AI and national defense. Reuters’ Ernest Scheyder unpacks the high‑stakes scramble and what it means for the global economy.

Ernest Scheyder is a senior correspondent covering critical minerals and the global energy transition, as well as the author of The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power our Lives, which was longlisted for the 2024 National Book Award and was named the American Energy Society’s Energy Book of the Year.

Check out “The War Below” here

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Mission critical: Trump and the mineral race