Key Points
- The Trump administration is buying direct stakes in key mining and tech companies.
- The move represents a shift from subsidies to direct ownership, aimed at securing U.S. supply chains. The goal is to reduce reliance on China.
- Key investments include stakes in Intel, MP Materials, and Lithium Americas.
- The government is also in talks to invest in rare earth projects in Greenland and Texas.
The Trump administration is taking a new, more aggressive approach to securing America’s supply chains for critical minerals and semiconductors: it’s buying direct stakes in key companies. This marks a significant shift from merely providing grants and subsidies to a strategy of direct government ownership, all aimed at reducing the U.S.’s reliance on China.
The government is targeting companies that are vital to the production of electric vehicles, advanced defense systems, and high-end computing. The goal is to establish a robust domestic supply chain for the materials and technologies essential to national and economic security.
Here are some of the key investments the administration has made or is considering:
- Intel: The government has taken a 9.9% stake in the struggling U.S. chip giant to support its efforts to build new domestic manufacturing plants.
- MP Materials: The U.S. has acquired a 15% stake in the company that operates America’s only rare earth mine, a crucial source of materials for magnets and electronics.
- Lithium Americas: The government has taken a 5% stake in the company developing the Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada, a key project for the domestic EV battery supply chain.
- Critical Metals: The administration is in talks to acquire an 8% stake in a company that controls a massive rare earths deposit in Greenland, an Arctic territory that Trump once attempted to purchase.
- USA Rare Earth: This company, which is developing a mine in Texas, has also confirmed it is in “close talks” with the White House.
