The first stage (during World War II and the Cold War): Serve the needs of war and have a clear wartime economic color. During this period, the key metal strategy of the United States focused on ensuring the resource requirements for its wartime economic operation, and striking the enemy's economy and war potential through resource depletion.
In 1939, in response to the tense political and economic environment before World War II, the United States enacted the Strategic and Critical Mineral Reserves Act. In 1974, the United States issued the Memorandum of Understanding on Key Imported Products to protect its national interests in the context of the Cold War. These policies have defined key metal concepts and established corresponding systems for material reserves, trade, and distribution.
The second stage (from the end of the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st century): catering to the trend of globalization, shifting from reality to emptiness, and emphasizing the development of high value-added resource application technologies. With the continuous deepening of trade liberalization and the easing of international tensions, the trend of supply chain globalization has ushered in significant development. In order to improve corporate profits and efficiency, the United States actively promotes a trade promotion strategy and shifts the focus of its key metal strategy towards encouraging the development of new technologies.
In 1990, the US Department of the Interior guided the establishment of the "Strategic Resource Mineral Technology Center" primarily responsible for mineral smelting processes, recycling technologies, and alternative material development.
The third stage (financial crisis 2008-2018): catering to the US manufacturing backflow strategy and attaching great importance to industrial chain security. Affected by events such as the global financial crisis, the United States' key metal strategy has gradually shifted from prioritizing efficiency to prioritizing safety.
In 2008, the National Council for Scientific Research of the United States proposed a two-dimensional assessment method for key metals based on supply risk and economic importance. In 2013, the Ames National Laboratory, a subsidiary of the US Department of Energy, jointly established the Key Materials Research Institute with multiple companies, universities, and national laboratories to address critical metal supply risks.
The fourth stage (during the administrations of Trump and Biden): to curb China's rise and promote the "de sinicization" of key metal supply chains. With its huge advantages in the metal smelting industry, China holds a dominant position in the supply of key metals (especially smelting product supply) and is accelerating its extension to downstream material utilization and advanced manufacturing stages. In recent years, the United States has expressed deep concern about this.
In official government reports, the United States bluntly referred to China as an adversary and hypothetical enemy, hyping and exaggerating China's threats to its critical metal supply chain and national security. Especially during the presidency of former US President Trump, he issued three presidential executive orders, declaring the United States to enter a "national emergency" and emphasizing its competitive relationship with China in key metals. After taking office, current President Biden requested the White House to conduct a hundred day review of the key metal supply chain in the United States and launched a 232 investigation into China's permanent magnet industry, citing "Chinese rare earth permanent magnets pose a threat to US security".