The Stockpile Gap: How America Can Secure the Strategic Materials It Needs to Win

(Jonathan E. Hillman, Ishaan Thakker – Council on Foreign Relations) The United States is stocking up. On February 2, President Donald Trump announced the creation of Project Vault, a $12 billion initiative meant “to ensure that American businesses and workers are never harmed by any shortage.” If the COVID-19 pandemic was a wakeup call about the fragility of global supply chains, China’s export controls on rare earths are a five-alarm siren that has not abated in Washington and capitals around the world. Adequately preparing for modern economic warfare and the prospect of armed conflict will require a broader approach to stockpiling. The United States should expand and modernize the National Defense Stockpile (NDS), establish a strategic resilience reserve (SRS) to meet commercial mineral needs, expand private sector collaboration through Project Vault, and explore plurilateral agreements to scale trusted sources of supply. – The Stockpile Gap: How America Can Secure the Strategic Materials It Needs to Win | Council on Foreign Relations