The recent US-China agreement may secure short-term access for rare earth elements, but it doesn't alter the strategic need for domestic supply chains. Lawson and Michael highlight the complexity, cost, and time required to build out mining, midstream, and magnet-making capacity, highlighting that China's success today is a result of a commitment made back in the 1980s. US initiatives, including Department of War programs, US government investment and EXIM Bank support, are injecting real funding into projects, critical given that some of these projects are single-asset, but progress takes time. Michael also discusses the copper and aluminum markets, where structural demand growth meets a difficult supply situation, leading to higher production costs in the case of aluminum.

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