Chairman Moolenaar Urges President Trump to Leverage Aviation Sector in Allied Response to China’s Rare Earth Export Restrictions

Today, Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump urging strong, coordinated action with U.S. allies to counter Beijing’s continued stranglehold on rare earths and magnets critical to defense and advanced manufacturing.

“These steps would send a clear message to Beijing that it cannot choke off critical supplies to our defense industries without consequences to its own strategic sectors,” Moolenaar wrote. “By acting together, the U.S. and its allies can strengthen our resilience, reinforce solidarity, and create real leverage with China.”

In the letter, Chairman Moolenaar commended President Trump’s leadership in rallying G7 allies to impose tariffs on China for supporting Russia, as well as his decisive actions to strengthen America’s critical mineral supply chains. He called for additional measures to increase U.S. and allied leverage in negotiations with Beijing.

Chairman Moolenaar proposed:

• Restricting or suspending Chinese airline landing rights in the U.S. and allied nations until China restores full, non-discriminatory export flows of rare earths and magnets.
• Reviewing export control policies governing the sale of commercial aircraft, parts, and maintenance services to China.
• Restricting outbound investment in China’s aviation sector in coordination with key allies.

The full letter to President Trump can be found here.