As the trade war between the United States and China rages on,... the U.S. Defense Department has submitted a report to Congress on rare earth minerals,... as it hopes to reduce America's reliance on China's vast supplies.
Lee Seung-jae reports.

Rare earth minerals are a group of 17 chemical elements,... which are used in a wide range of consumer products,... from electric car motors to smartphones,... as well as military jet engines, satellites and lasers.
With simmering trade tensions between the United States and China,... it has raised concerns in Washington that Beijing could use its dominant position as the world's main supplier of rare earths as leverage.
With that, the U.S. Defense Department submitted a report to Congress this week,... with a plan for a federal program designed to bolster production capabilities through targeted economic incentives.
While the Pentagon did not provide details,... it's hoped the plan will reduce America's reliance on China.
Currently China supplies about 80-percent of U.S. imports of the minerals.
Most rare earth minerals mined outside of China still end up there for processing,... with the lone U.S. mine in California also sending its material to China.
Due to this,.. China has used rare earth minerals as leverage in its trade talks,... raising tariffs to 25-percent from the previous 10-percent,... while the U.S. excluded the elements from its own list of prospective tariffs on roughly 300-billion dollars worth of Chinese goods to be targeted in its next wave of tariff measures.
Experts say despite the U.S. plan to produce alternative rare earth supplies,... it's not something that can happen overnight,... as China will use its stronghold on the minerals as a powerful bargaining chip.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.