RARE EARTHS AND OTHER CRITICAL ELEMENTS: ECONOMIC AND POLICY PERSPECTIVES

Rare earths and other elements critical to the functioning of emerging technologies--such as electric vehicles, smart phones, and photovoltaic solar panels--can be subject to supply risks for a variety of reasons: geopolitical risks, reliance on byproduct production, and fundamental geochemical scarcity, among others. There is the prospect that the deployment of a number of emerging technologies could be stalled because of the supply risks associated with essential mineral raw materials. This paper presents an economic framework in which to assess the issues associated with rare earths and other critical elements. It reviews efforts by governments in the U.S. and elsewhere to respond to the prospect of mineral unavailability.