Rare earths and China: Choose deregulation, not price controls
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened to implement price controls on unspecified goods if China continues to restrict rare earth mineral exports. Over at the Washington Examiner, Paige Lambermont and I show why deregulation, not more industrial policy, is the best way to resolve this dispute in America’s favor:
Bessent argues that if you want to defeat your opponent, you must become more like them. This is a poor basis for public policy. It is also the opposite of how America defeated the Soviet Union in the Cold War…
Successful permitting reform efforts would go much farther toward unleashing America’s rare earth minerals potential than price controls would. America has no shortage of mineral resources. However, it is exceptionally difficult to open a new mine in this country. On average, it takes 29 years to go from discovery to production, with the permitting process alone accounting for seven to 10 of these years.