In an outstanding interview with Larry Kudlow on Fox Business, Secretary Chris Wright covers some key points on the upcoming China meetings with President Trump and President Xi.
• The U.S. Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, discussed the government’s efforts to develop and produce rare earth elements, which are critical for various industries.
• China has strategically dominated the rare earth industry, and the U.S. is working to break this dependence by partnering with businesses, miners, and manufacturers to ramp up domestic production and processing capabilities.
• The administration is working to streamline the permitting process and overcome legal challenges to enable faster development of rare earth projects in states like California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Idaho.
• While it will take around 24 months to significantly improve the U.S. rare earth position, the government is exploring options like recycling and “friendshoring” to access rare earth supplies in the short term.
• Secretary Wright also mentioned the administration’s decision to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska for energy development, which was previously restricted by the Biden administration.
@SecretaryWright has a plan for Rare Earth and Critical Minerals – What is the timeline? In an outstanding interview with Larry Kudlow on Fox Business, Secretary Chris Wright covers some key points on the upcoming China meetings with President Trump and President Xi.
• The… pic.twitter.com/jeUXbwxbqA
— STUART TURLEY – Energy Podcast Host (@STUARTTURLEY16) October 25, 2025
David Blackmon, Stu Turley, and Doomberg will be live on X, YouTube, and LinkedIn on Monday to talk about this article and China’s impact on Energy. You can bookmark here for YouTube:
Larry Kudlow, Fox Host [00:00:00] Joining us now is Energy Secretary, Mr. Chris Wright. Chris, thank you for coming on. Appreciate your time. I know you’re opening up ANWAR and I’ll get to that. But everyone’s asking me, everyone’s asking me for an update on the rare earths because of China’s blackmail. Front page story in the Wall Street Journal, totally about that. You know, 3,000 words worth. Chris, can you just tell us what is happening on our effort to develop, produce and manufacture rare earths?
Secretary Chris Wright [00:00:31] It’s a big deal, Larry. As as you said, it’s an all-of-government effort. We’re making deal with businesses, small miners, big miners, processing companies, manufacturers. We’re bringing in larger companies that can help bring manufacturing technologies to ramp things up quickly. But China get went after this industry strategically to make us and the rest of the world dependent on them, and we need to break that dependence. And during the Trump administration, we will break that dependence.
Larry Kudlow, Fox Host [00:00:59] Mr. Secretary, you know, I had some experience with it in the first term at the NEC. Mike, here’s one question. Are all the permits for activity in excavation and mining, are all the permits for the various locations in place so that these businesses can produce?
Secretary Chris Wright [00:01:17] Well, some some yes, some no. I mean, for our big rare earth mine right now, it is it is mining today, it’s expanding that mine and it’ll build processing there. But you know there’s a resolution copper mine in Arizona. Twenty nine years we’re trying to get this mine open. We thought we’d have that open in August. I think we’ll have it open soon. That’s a copper mine, not a rare earth mine, but it’s still difficult to mine in the US, and that’s a problem the Trump administration’s working on fixing as well.
Larry Kudlow, Fox Host [00:01:43] Can’t you roll through this executive authority? I mean, the permits are so important. I mean, you know this. I’m sp I know I’m preaching to the choir secretary, but this this China story, this rare earth black male story is just so bad. President Trump’s gonna be going there to negotiate with Xi. And I I don’t know. I mean, he he needs a rare earth crush, he needs a rare earth crusade.
Secretary Chris Wright [00:02:07] Behind him. Oh, you’re so right. And look, I’m permitting you’re right. That’s not the problem. This government is moving smart and efficiently on that. It’s lawfair, right? These all of these things are challenged in the courts, and we got to beat them back in the courts. It’s an argument for permitting reform and legal reform. Gotta be able to build stuff in America today. We can’t be dependent upon communist China and we’re going to fix that problem. But Larry, as you know, there’s a lot of things that have to be fixed on the way.
Larry Kudlow, Fox Host [00:02:33] Ms. Secretary, what states are the most promising for the rare earth development?
Secretary Chris Wright [00:02:39] Yeah, believe it or not, California is our one rare earth producer today. But there’s resources in in Nevada, in Utah, in Arizona, in Idaho. So across that mountain mining west districts, we have lots of opportunities there. And mining again is just one piece of it. The processing of the metals, the refining of the metals, and then fabrication into magnets, those are almost the bigger challenges. We have to we have to do all four legs of that stool, but we will.
Larry Kudlow, Fox Host [00:03:07] Is there any estimates of time? I mean, can we start producing in twelve months, eighteen months? How long do you reckon it’s gonna take?
Secretary Chris Wright [00:03:15] So in twelve months we’ll be in a better situation than we are today, absolutely. It’s probably more twenty four months before we’re in a massively better position than we are today, but every day that ball is moving forward.
Larry Kudlow, Fox Host [00:03:29] Can we tap into any existing inventories in this twenty-four month period? So we’ve got some, you know, got some product here.
Secretary Chris Wright [00:03:37] Oh absolutely. W w one one of the big things we’re working on with with commercial business is is recycling. All these old devices, they have rare earth elements in them. They have magnets already fabricated in ’em. So we’re looking at recycling, we’re looking at stores, we’re looking at other friendshoring sources, you know, besides China. But China worked long and hard to get strategic dominance in this area. We can break it and we will break it, but it is taking time. I I wish it was next week that it was over.
Larry Kudlow, Fox Host [00:04:06] And last one, Mr. Secretary, you are to be congratulated. You are opening Anwar up in Alaska finally, and I assume that’s gonna be permanent, so that’s a good thing. It is.
Secretary Chris Wright [00:04:16] Unleash Alaska. The Biden administration had more sanctions on Alaska than they had on Iran and Venezuela combined. That’s how backward they looked at energy. The Trump administration is let’s unleash American entrepreneurship and businesses, grow our production across the north slope of Alaska, from Anwar to NPRA and the whole lands in between.
Larry Kudlow, Fox Host [00:04:44] All right. Well well done on that one. The government shut down but Anwar is opening up. It’s a terrific story. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, we appreciate it very much, sir. Thank you for coming on.
Secretary Chris Wright [00:04:53] Thank you, Larry.
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