President Biden draws the line with China

| 7:30 pm EST February 26, 2022
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One of the GOP’s favorite talking points with no basis in reality is their constant accusations of President Biden being too soft on China. To believe this, you’d have to ignore the fact that China is largely annoyed that they no longer have the former guy to suck up to in terms of trade policy and state secrets. While the US and China have to maintain a workable relationship as trade partners, there are some economic advantages that gave them leverage over America through much of the Trump years. Thanks to President Biden’s plan announced on Tuesday, however, they may not necessarily enjoy it for much longer.

Rare-earth metals, which are used frequently in technology like electric vehicles are a major economic staple of China and have been a regular right-wing talking point as to why getting the US to switch to renewable energy is not practical. On Tuesday, the Defense Dept. offered a $35 million contract to MP Materials, a company that has plans to produce these metals in California. The company already has agreements to produce parts for General Motors – a move that should help the US move closer to its goal of half the cars on the road becoming electric by the year 2030 – a goal already set by the Biden administration.

Right now, China dominates 80% of the rare-earth market, which allows them to drive out other competitors. This is just one of the ways in which a Biden administration is multitudes better for the US economy and the general well-being of the world, with ramifications that will include a safer and steady reduction in greenhouse emissions while also making the US far more competitive.