The article is behind a paywall. Without reading his argument, my only comment is, I don't believe there are alternative sources (today) to fill the gap. The only real long term solution is expanding/opening mines in the US to assure uninterrupted access.
If China expands their ban of REE's, as they've done with this S. Korean action, to other countries thus limiting our ability to access the minerals or products that contain Chinese REE's we will be at a severe disadvantage. Even if the import value is "only" $170M the real problem is without those REE's any product that uses any in production can't be manufactured. The dollars lost of products not made goes far beyond $170M and to make matters worse, there are national security implications.
The only real solution is to dramatically expedite the mining and processing of domestic sources. Time to really cut the Red Tape and move on domestic production. Even if this current problem is resolved, China could reintroduce a ban whenever they need leverage.
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