USA Rare Earth Shares Spike More Than 18% On News Of Talks With Trump Administration

USA Rare Earth shares rose more than 18% to a record high Friday after CEO Barbara Humpton said the company was in “close discussions with the White House” during a CNBC interview. We have highlighted the name multiple times when discussing potential rare earth companies that the Trump administration could take interest in. We also noted MP Materials months ago before the company’s nearly 400% ascent. 

Humpton’s remarks follow the Trump administration’s 5% stakes in Lithium Americas and its Thacker Pass joint venture with General Motors earlier this week. In March, Trump invoked emergency powers to boost U.S. mineral output after China halted rare earth exports, underscoring the need for domestic supply.

Recall, just hours ago we noted that as part of America’s Industrial Policy transformation, The Trump administration is pressing companies across nearly 30 industries to strike deals that advance national and economic security goals.

Officials are offering tariff relief, revenue guarantees, and even government equity stakes in exchange for concessions. The rapid pace of negotiations is aimed at securing political wins for President Donald Trump before the 2026 midterm elections, sources said. 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has emerged as the administration’s lead dealmaker, overseeing government stakes in Intel and Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel. “If we’re going to give you the money, we want a piece of the action,” Lutnick said in August. He is building out a Wall Street-heavy team under a new U.S. Investment Accelerator, seeded in part with $550 billion from Japan as part of its trade commitments.

The International Development Finance Corporation, originally tasked with overseas projects, is also central to the strategy. A June proposal before Congress would expand its mandate and increase its firepower to $250 billion, creating an equity fund to support critical supply chains, energy, minerals, and infrastructure.

Reuters reports that the administration’s outreach spans semiconductors, AI, shipbuilding, critical minerals, energy, and pharmaceuticals. On Tuesday, Trump announced a White House deal with Pfizer to cut drug prices in exchange for tariff relief, declaring: “The United States is done subsidizing healthcare of the rest of the world.”

Companies are learning the optics are as important as the agreements. Eli Lilly was pressed by the administration after announcing new U.S. plants without including Trump. “As an American company, Lilly is committed to expanding manufacturing capacity in the U.S.,” a spokesperson said. Pfizer and AstraZeneca declined comment.

And we continue to watch the nuclear space closely, where we have speculated that names like Centrus Energy (LEU) could be in line for attention from the adminstration.