Mining Technology (2025). “China currently controls over 69% of global rare earth production.”The New York Times (2025). “China Halts Critical Exports as Trade War Intensifies.”U.S. Geological Survey (2026). "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026."U.S. Geological Survey (2026). “Mineral Commodity Summaries - Rare Earths.”

Rare Earths Statistics: U.S. Sources and Import Reliance

China dominates mining and processing of rare earths. Here's what investors need to know.

By Jack Caporal – Updated Feb 24, 2026 at 7:02 PM EST | Fact-checked by Margo Winton Parodi

Key Points

China controls 70% of rare-earth extraction and 90% of processing.
U.S. 2025 rare-earth imports were 71% from China, critical for defense and energy.
Investors should track U.S. efforts to boost domestic rare-earth production.

Rare-earths, also known as rare-earth elements and rare-earth metals, are a group of 17 metals with a range of applications in electronics, semiconductors, renewable energy technology, lasers, magnets, and other industrial and military uses. Rare-earth elements were once difficult to find but are now relatively abundant thanks to technological advances.

China accounts for roughly 70% of rare-earth extraction and 90% of rare-earth processing, giving it firm control over the rare-earth supply chain and supply chains for the numerous key products and innovations that rely on rare-earths.

Concern over China's rare-earth dominance has led other countries to adopt measures to jump-start domestic rare-earth mining and refining. Still, 67% of U.S. consumption of rare-earths in 2025 relied on imports, 71% of which came from China.

Rare-earth supply chain diversification has taken on greater urgency amid China's restrictions on exports of seven rare-earth elements and magnets -- samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium -- to the United States in response to the Trump administration's imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods. Those elements have critical uses in the defense, energy, and automotive industries.

For a full breakdown of rare-earth statistics, including import and export data, production, and import reliance, read on.

Where does the U.S. import rare-earth from?

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China is the dominant supplier of rare-earth to the United States, accounting for 71% of U.S. rare-earth imports in 2025, roughly 10.4 million kilograms. A far distant second to China, Malaysia's rare-earth accounted for 13% of U.S. imports. Rare-earth elements from Japan accounted for 6% of U.S. imports, and Estonia accounted for another 5%.

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U.S. imports of rare-earths from China

China has been, by far, the top source of rare-earth metals for the United States -- and much of the world -- for decades. Despite calls for diversification away from China, 71% of U.S. rare-earth imports came from China from 2021 through 2025.

The amount of rare-earth imports the U.S. has received from China has decreased over time, from 20 thousand tons in 2004 to 15 thousand 2024, and the U.S. has become less reliant on rare-earth imports overall. Still, the U.S. -- and the rest of the world -- remains entirely reliant on China for certain rare-earths, including processed heavy rare-earth elements and rare-earth magnets.

U.S. rare-earth production compared to the rest of the world

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China is by far the largest producer of raw rare-earth metals, mining 270,000 metric tons in 2025, which accounted for 69% of all rare-earth mining production that year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The U.S. is a distant second and produced 13% of mined rare-earths that year. China accounted for almost 90% of global rare-earth production in 2023.

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The United States mined 51,000 metric tons of rare-earth in 2025, up from 45,500 in 2024 -- a fraction of China’s 270,000 metric tons of production and its own consumption. There is a single active rare-earth mine in the United States, in Mountain Pass, California. That mine used to produce most of the world's supply of rare-earth from the 1960s until 1995, after China joined the World Trade Organization and its exports poured into global markets. Mountain Pass closed in 2002 and reopened in 2017.

The company that owns Mountain Pass, MP Materials, ships the majority of its mined rare-earth materials to China for processing because there is no U.S. capacity to separate heavy rare-earth materials. The Pentagon has announced plans and funding to reshore and ramp up U.S. production and processing of rare-earth, but domestic capacity that can match demand is far off.

What investors need to know about rare-earths

U.S. access to rare-earths from China is in flux, which could impact companies in a range of industries, including aerospace, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, and defense.

Investors should monitor shifts in Chinese export controls and other restrictions on rare-earth shipments to the United States. They should pay particular attention to magnets and heavy rare-earths.

Investors with a longer time horizon might consider watching for U.S. government funding and contracts awarded to specific companies to support domestic rare-earth mining and processing. Permitting for new rare-earth mines and processing facilities is another factor to keep an eye on, as are new technologies and potential breakthroughs that could impact the long-term viability of a domestic U.S. rare-earth industry supply chain.

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About the Author

Jack Caporal is the Research Director for The Motley Fool and Motley Fool Money. Jack leads efforts to identify and analyze trends shaping investing and personal financial decisions across the United States. His research has appeared in thousands of media outlets including Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, Bloomberg, and CNBC, and has been cited in congressional testimony. He previously covered business and economic trends as a reporter and policy analyst in Washington, D.C. He serves as Chair of the Trade Policy Committee at the World Trade Center in Denver, Colorado. He holds a B.A. degree in International Relations with a concentration in International Economics from Michigan State University.

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