Trump team hears pitches on access to Myanmar's rare earths

The Trump administration has heard competing proposals that would significantly alter longstanding US policy towards Myanmar, with the aim of diverting its vast supplies of rare earth minerals away from strategic rival China, four people with direct knowledge of the discussions said.

- TREVOR HUNNICUTT DAVID BRUNNSTROM DEVJYOT GHOSHAL

Nothing has been decided, and experts say there are huge logistical obstacles, but if the ideas are ever acted upon, Washington may need to strike a deal with the ethnic rebels controlling most of Myanmar's rich deposits of heavy rare earths.

Among the proposals are one advocating talks with Myanmar’s ruling junta to get a peace deal with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) rebels and another calling for the US to instead work directly with the KIA without engaging the junta. Washington has avoided direct talks with the country’s military leaders following their overthrow of the country’s democratically elected government in 2021.

The ideas have been proposed to administration officials by a US business lobbyist, a former adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi, in indirect talks with the KIA and some outside experts, the sources said.

The conversations have not previously been reported.

Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion. So-called heavy rare earths are used to build fighter jets and other high-performance weaponry. The US produces very small amounts of heavy rare earths and is reliant on imports.

Securing supplies of the minerals is a major focus of the Trump administration in its strategic competition with China, which is responsible for nearly 90% of global processing capacity, according to the International Energy Agency.

Engaging the junta would be a sharp departure for the United States, given US sanctions on the military leaders and the violence committed against the Rohingya minority that Washington calls genocide and crimes against humanity. Last week, the Trump administration lifted sanctions designations on several junta allies, but US officials said this does not indicate any broader shift in US policy towards Myanmar.