特朗普稱希望烏克蘭向美國供應稀土

Recently Reuters News on-line reported the following:

Trump says he wants Ukraine to supply US with rare earths

By Reuters

February 4, 20258:02 PM PST

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he wants Ukraine to supply the United States with rare earth minerals as a form of payment for financially supporting the country's war efforts against Russia.

Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said Ukraine was willing, adding that he wants "equalization" from Ukraine for Washington's "close to $300 billion" in support.

"We're telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths," Trump said. "We're looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they're going to secure what we're giving them with their rare earths and other things."

It was not immediately clear if Trump was using the term "rare earths" to refer to all types of critical minerals or just to rare earths.

Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion for electric vehicles, cellphones and other electronics. There are no known substitutes.

The U.S. Geological Survey considers 50 minerals to be critical, opens new tab for the country's economy and national defense, including several types of rare earths, nickel and lithium.

Ukraine contains large deposits of uranium, lithium and titanium, although none are considered to be among the world's five biggest by volume and the U.S. has its own untapped reserves of those and other critical minerals.

The U.S. has only one operating rare earths mine, which is owned by MP Materials (MP.N), opens new tab. Several other companies are working to develop U.S. rare earths projects.

In 2024, the United States was reliant on China, Malaysia, Japan and Estonia for 80 percent of its rare earths needs, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Translation

特朗普稱希望烏克蘭向美國供應稀土

華盛頓 2 月 3 日（路透社）- 美國總統特朗普週一表示，他希望烏克蘭向美國供應稀土礦物，作為對美國對俄羅斯戰爭努力提供經濟支持的回報。

特朗普在白宮對記者表示，烏克蘭願意配合，並補充說，他希望烏克蘭「平衡」華盛頓提供的「近 3000 億美元」援助。

特朗普說： “我們告訴烏克蘭，他們擁有非常寶貴的稀土”; “我們希望與烏克蘭達成協議，用稀土和其他資源, 以抵押我們給他們的東西。”

目前尚不清楚特朗普使用的「稀土」一詞是否指所有類型的關鍵礦物或僅指稀土。

稀土是一組 17 種金屬，用於製造磁鐵，將電能轉化為電能用於動車、手機和其他電子設備。目前沒有知到的替代品。

美國地質調查局認為有50種礦物至關重要，開發關乎國家經濟與國防的新資源，其中包括幾種稀土、鎳和鋰。

烏克蘭擁有豐富的鈾、鋰和鈦礦產資源，但就藏量而言，這些礦產均未躋身世界五大礦產之列，而且美國自己也擁有尚未開發的上述礦產和其他關鍵礦產藏量。

美國目前僅有一座正在運作的稀土礦，由 MP Materials (MP.N) 擁有, 以開發新資源。另有幾家公司正在致力於開發美國稀土計劃。

根據美國地質調查局的數據，在 2024 年，美國 80% 的稀土需求依賴中國、馬來西亞、日本和愛沙尼亞。

       So, when Trump says that he wants "equalization" from Ukraine for Washington's "close to $300 billion" support given to Ukraine to fight against Russia’s aggression, my initial feeling is that the amount of $300 billion is a much-inflated figure.  Probably Trump is deliberately using “fake” information to help stress his argument (or perhaps a trick often used by a businessman when negotiating for a good deal). If he makes political judgements bases on that, I think it will be dangerous for the American and the whole world. May God bless the American.