J. A. Green & Company President Jeff Green Discusses Pressing Rare Earth Issues on George Mason University’s National Security Institute Podcast

Washington D.C. -- J. A. Green & Company (“J. A. Green & Co.” or the “Company”) President Jeff Green appeared on George Mason University’s National Security Institute (“NSI”) podcast to discuss the past, present, and future issues surrounding rare earth elements (“REEs”) and their role in maintaining U.S. national security.  
  
Mr. Green also discussed the critical role of Defense Production Act (“DPA”) investments to bolster domestic REE production and recent reactions to his op-ed that rebuts claims made by the Wall Street Journal’s (“WSJ”) editorial board that free-market economics alone can solve the supply chain risks of REEs.  
  
“It’s hard to compete with the Chinese head-to-head. The way we generally win in the market is to out-innovate, and I think that’s where we need additional investment in new technologies,” said Mr. Green on the essential role of DPA investments to spur the domestic production of REEs. Mr. Green also noted that free-market approaches to increasing domestic production only work in a context where all players adhere to the rules of a free market system, which China does not.  
  
On the future of domestic REE production and enhancing supply chain security, Mr. Green pointed out the specific issue for which DPA investments are needed: “Where the economics of the REE supply chain starts to fail is when you go from making rare earth oxide to making rare earth metal. There’s very little money in making rare earth metal, and I think that’s why you don’t see anyone doing it today, because the margins are so thin. It’s the same thing for producing alloys—very difficult, tough to incentivize. But when you jump to the next step of making magnets, that’s where you start making money again. So it’s this gap. It’s kind of the ‘rare earth valley of death’ and we can’t get through that metal and alloy phase to achieve independence.”   
 
J. A. Green & Co. has been helping businesses navigate the complexities of government since 2007. Jeff Green is a retired Air Force Colonel, former counsel for the House Armed Services Committee, and President of J. A. Green & Co., a Washington D.C. federal affairs consulting firm. 
 
The full podcast episode may be found via the links below in video and audio formats. 
 
Video: Tech Innovation & American National Security - Should We Have an Industrial Policy for Rare Earths? 
  
Audio: https://shows.acast.com/nsi-live/episodes/nsi-2020-technology-innovation-and-american-national-securit  ​