Episode summary
Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend - August 14th, 2026 | Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily
· · 39 min · Hosts: Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec
Summary
The weekend show focused on the accelerating U.S. push into rare earths and other critical minerals, framing it as a mix of industrial policy, national security, and economic statecraft. The host said the White House’s multibillion-dollar effort is aimed at weaning the U.S. off supply chains dominated by China, while still relying on allies and partners rather than building everything at home.
A guest from the critical minerals policy world argued the U.S. is moving closer to self-sufficiency, but still has a long way to go. She said the biggest weakness so far has been figuring out how to make non-China projects commercially viable, especially through price floors, and she pointed to recycling, lower-material technologies, and tailings recovery as part of a broader toolkit. Another guest, the CEO of US Antimony, said the administration is much more supportive than past governments and floated the idea of selling up to 20% of his company to the U.S. government if the terms made sense.
The conversation also explored a new model in which the government takes minority stakes or backs strategic projects instead of only issuing grants or loans. A government-funding consultant said the market should expect more deals, but also more failures, because the aim is to backstop supply chains rather than guarantee every project succeeds.
Key takeaways
- The host framed critical minerals as a national-security and industrial-policy issue, not just a commodities trade.
- A guest from CSIS said the U.S. is moving closer to reducing dependence on foreign critical minerals, but still has a long ramp to self-sufficiency.
- The same guest said price floors are the weakest part of the policy toolkit because nobody has agreed who should pay.
- Gary Evans of US Antimony said he would consider selling up to 20% of his company to the U.S. government if incentives were strong enough.
- Trip Hornick said the government is looking for 10% to 20% stakes in some deals and that some projects will fail.
- The panel said the real test for the program will be whether government-backed projects deliver results for taxpayers and supply chains.
Notable quotes
“we're still have a very long ramp to self-sufficiency”
“industrial policy is here and that the government is here to support companies working in our national interest”
“Appetite is all in, but not at 20%”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news.
This is Bloomberg Business Week Daily. Reporting from the magazine that helps global leaders stay ahead with insight on the people, companies, and trends shaping today's complex economy. Plus, global business, finance, and tech news as it happens.
The Bloomberg Business Week Daily podcast with Carol Masser and Tim Stenc on Bloomberg Radio. Hi everyone, welcome to the Bloomberg Business Week weekend podcast. Carol is on assignment this week.
It was a busy week where geopolitical tensions certainly remained front and center this as the standoff between the US and Iran just continued to rattle global shipping in the oil market. Meanwhile, the latest readings on CPI and PPI suggest that the impact of the energy price shock from the Iran war continued to fade in July, possibly giving the Fed more room to weigh inflation pressures as they meet in Jackson Hole just a little later this month. As always, check out the latest updates and coverage on the Bloomberg Terminal and at bloomberg.com.
This weekend, we're bringing you a special deep dive into the world of rare earths and critical minerals. It's a race that's been sparked recently by the White House's new multi-billion dollar push to wean the US off supply chains that have been dominated by China. We do that with a great rotation of guests, including a full hour with Joe Doe.
He's Bloomberg News senior economic statecraftraft reporter who specializes in minerals and mining. Plus, we're joined by Gary Evans, the president and CEO of US Antimony, who mentioned to us that he would be open to selling up to 20% of his company to the US government. All that to come.
We begin with the global landscape of the rare earths market one year after China's export restrictions on heavy rare earths and permanent magnets triggered rapid disruptions across the US, Canadian and European defense and industrial supply chains.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- business and finance
- global technology
- politics
- economics
- news roundup
Watch the episode
Watch “Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend - August 14th, 2026 | Bloomberg Businessweek” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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