Glass jars containing rare earths are pictured inside the storage room of Tradium, a company specialised in trading rare earths, in Germany, on November 4, 2025. Tradium keeps thousands of barrels of the precious materials — almost all from China, the world's biggest producer. The materials in the bunker, such as dysprosium, terbium and neodymium, are essential for the manufacture of crucial modern technology including smartphones, electric cars and wind turbines. KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/Getty Images KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/Getty Images At one point in history, one U.S. company monopolized the rare earths industry. Then China took over the industry. Can the U.S. bring…