Trump launches $12B ‘Project Vault’ for critical minerals stockpile to battle China’s dominance

President Donald Trump will soon unveil a $12 billion project to stockpile critical minerals used by the defense and technology sectors as a hedge against Chinese dominance of the strategically important industry in what the White House will call “Project Vault.”

The public-private effort — first reported by Bloomberg — would use $1.67 billion in private seed funds and combine that cash with another $10 billion from the U.S. government’s Export-Import Bank for the purchase and storage of critical minerals and rare earths such as gallium and cobalt, a key ingredient in rechargeable batteries as well as modern jet engines used by military aircraft.

It comes as Trump is looking to intensify efforts to re-shore manufacturing and bolster America’s military preparedness by shifting U.S. supply chains away from Beijing.

China is the world’s largest supplier and processor of the important minerals, and the Chinese government has in recent months attempted to use its dominance of the sector as a leverage point in the trade war Trump started upon returning to office last year.

The Trump administration plan, which an administration official compared favorably to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve that was created in the wake of the 1973 Arab oil embargo that sent fuel prices soaring across the U.S. and the West.

Like the oil reserve, Trump’s stockpile would act as a relief valve to guard against price shocks and shortages that could cripple key manufacturing sectors and have significant knock-on effects that could devastate the American economy.

While the federal government does currently have a more limited stockpile reserved for the defense industry’s exclusive use, the “Project Vault” stockpile would support civilian industries and guard against any retaliatory actions that Beijing could take in the event of a conflict.

To that end, numerous technology and manufacturing companies have signed on to the project, including automakers GM and Stellantis, Boeing, Corning, General Electric Vernova and Google.

The Trump administration shifted efforts to reduce mineral supply chain risks into a higher gear last year after China retaliated against Trump’s tariffs by imposing stricter export controls on the materials, tightening supplies and causing manufacturers to slow domestic production in the U.S.

It has made rare direct investments in mineral companies looking to boost domestic production and stuck deals with multiple countries on cooperation with regard to critical minerals.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also press foreign leaders to join similar agreements when he hosts dozens of foreign ministers from allied nations for a multilateral critical mineral summit at the State Department on Wednesday,