In retaliation for President Trump’s tariffs, China restricted rare earth exports to the U.S. “There were major manufacturers that didn't even realize how dependent they were on rare earth magnets,” says James Litinsky, CEO of MP Materials that mines rare earths, processes them, and manufactures high-powered magnets. “We were seeing the economy on the verge of shutdown.” Senior Trump administration officials summoned summoned Litinsky and MP's co-founder and COO, Michael Rosenthal, to Washington. Litinsky says the Pentagon pushed for a Manhattan Project-style effort to rapidly ramp up a U.S. rare earth supply chain. #rareearthmetals #supplychain #nationalsecurity #tradewar #usmanufacturing