The U.S. once controlled the market on rare earth elements, sought after for a range of technologies. But in the last few decades, China has cornered that market and surpassed the U.S.

China has released its first set of rare earth mining quotas for 2025 quietly, marking a move to tighten state control over an industry vital to everything from electric cars to military hardware. Reuters reported that Beijing issued the initial quotas just last month,

Decades of process innovation and industrial policy helped China corner the rare earths market while the US fell behind.