re:  Weaning ourselves from a China import

One thing that seems to be ignored in the discussion of imports such as rare earth minerals is that while we have been buying these materials from China, it has given the US time to specialize in other areas. As with any economic issue, there is what is seen — in this case, China's rare earth surge — and what is unseen. Because we weren't dealing with the environmental impact of this kind of mining, we most likely have had to spend less on environmental cleanup or other related issues that arise. Perhaps the investment capital that would've gone towards mining equipment went instead into development of software or computer chips, or even other devices that use those rare earth materials.  Just because the potential benefits aren't obvious doesn't mean that they aren't real and substantial.

When the focus is limited only to one aspect of an economic policy, the broader issue is easy to miss.  When it becomes economically advantageous for American companies to re-open domestic rare earth mines rather than purchase the minerals from Chinese suppliers, they will do so. Until such point, let's take advantage of division of labor and specialization — key components to producing wealth and prosperity.

Sincerely,
Dave Smith
Houston, TX