Despite years of concern in the U.S. and around the world, China controls a monopoly on Rare Earth Elements (REEs)According to the 2013 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the national office, REEs are essential to civilian and military technologies and to the 21st-century global economy, including green technologies (e.g., wind turbines and advanced battery systems)advanced defense systems, and consumer mobile devices, computer disk drives, and televisions. "China holds a commanding monopoly over world REE supplies, controlling about 95 percent of mined production and refining," said James Clapper, U.S. director intelligence, to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in 2012. "China's dominance and policies on pricing and exports are leading other countries to pursue miligation strategies, but those strategies probably will have only limited impact within the next five years and will almost certainly not end Chinese REE dominance." The obvious economic and national security issues have led the U.S. and other nations to begin building their own mines which are likely to be operational within the next five years. However, REEs are exceptionally expensive to mine, not only because they are rare, but also because they are found in such tiny amounts and the lack of manufacturing facilities with the necessary expertise to refine the minerals still reside in China. High costs and regulations further slow the process. REEs are nonessential to civilian and military technologies and to the 21st-century global economy. True False