The US relies on China more than any other country for its critical minerals.[1] I wonder how much this plays (or should play) into the current US-China trade war and all its noisy politics right now.

After China, the US is most dependent on Canada for minerals. Canada can't supply everything (lithium comes to mind) but at least that seems to be an alliance the US has a better chance to preserve.

See page 12 of the linked USGS report in the article: [1] http://prd-wret.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/...