The President's Daily Brief
April 23rd, 2025: China’s Rare Earth Ban May Be Backfiring & Rubio Overhauls The State Department
23 Apr 2025
In this episode of The President’s Daily Brief: China’s rare earth export ban was meant to punish the U.S.—but it may be backfiring, as countries around the world rush to cut their dependence on Beijing. The State Department unveils a major reorganization plan aimed at slashing bureaucracy and aligning with President Trump’s America First foreign policy. Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky both signal—for the first time in years—that they may be open to direct talks. And in today’s Back of the Brief: A jury in Manhattan convicts Senator Bob Menendez’s wife in a long-running federal bribery case. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. True Classic: Upgrade your wardrobe and save on @trueclassic at https://trueclassic.com/PDB #trueclassicpod Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold StopBox: Get firearm security redesigned and save with BOGO the StopBox Pro AND 10% OFF @StopBoxUSA with code PDB at http://stopboxusa.com/PDB ! #stopboxpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Full Episode
It's Wednesday, the 23rd of April. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start things off today with China's rare earth retaliation, say that three times fast, meant to tighten the regime's grip on the global supply chain. But it may be doing just the opposite.
The export ban was designed to punish the U.S., but now countries around the world are rushing to break free from Beijing's control. We'll have those details. Later in the show, the State Department, the U.S. State Department, rolls out a major reorganization plan aimed at slashing bureaucracy and more closely aligning with President Trump's America First agenda.
Plus, a major terrorist attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir leaves dozens of tourists dead, marking a dangerous new turn in the region's long-running insurgency. And in today's Back of the Brief, the curtain falls on the Menendez bribery saga. Remember Gold Bar Bob? A Manhattan jury convicts Senator Bob Menendez's wife in a high-profile corruption case. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
As we've reported on this show, China has halted exports of rare earth minerals used in military applications and high-tech devices. Now, these minerals, 17 in total, are critical to manufacturing everything from missile guidance systems and fighter jets to electric vehicles, smartphones, and even wind turbines. The decision was framed by Beijing as a retaliatory move in the ongoing trade war.
And at first glance, well, I suppose it made sense. China dominates the global rare earths market, controlling about 70% of production and almost 90% of the processing and refining capacity. Cutting off exports to the U.S. and its allies was meant to create pain, particularly for the defense contractors and advanced tech manufacturers. And it is having an impact. American companies are scrambling.
MP Materials, the only rare earth miner in the U.S., has stopped shipping raw materials to China. It's no longer cost-effective, thanks to new tariffs. Instead, the company is pivoting hard, investing nearly $1 billion into domestic processing and magnet production at a new facility in Texas.
Meanwhile, manufacturers that rely on rare earths for everything from weapon systems to electric motors are being forced to explore new options. For some, that means turning to less efficient substitutes. For others, it means pausing production until supply lines stabilize. Either way, it's been seriously disruptive.
And Beijing isn't just tightening exports, it's also pressuring its trade partners to do the same. This is an important angle. According to the Korea Economic Daily, Chinese officials have asked South Korean companies not to export products containing Chinese rare earth minerals to U.S. defense firms.
It's a clear attempt, of course, to extend control over the global supply chain and tighten the stranglehold on critical materials, not to mention to bully other countries. But here's where the story turns, because there are signs that this move is already backfiring on Beijing.
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