On Tuesday, China announced a ban on the export of several critical minerals to the United States
The STRATEGIC Minerals Act would increase U.S. supply of critical minerals, counter Chinese market dominance
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper, Todd Young, Chris Coons, and John Cornyn introduced the bipartisan STRATEGIC Minerals Act to increase the U.S. supply of critical minerals by strengthening trade with international partners.
The bill comes after China’s December third announcement that they would immediately block the export of gallium, germanium, and antimony to the U.S. These minerals are essential to the U.S. defense industry, clean energy, and advanced technologies like microchips.
“China controls many of the minerals that are essential to our national security, our ability to address climate change, and to the microchips that power our modern way of life,” said Hickenlooper. “China’s only leading because we’re letting them. Our bipartisan bill is a course correction our country desperately needs.”
“Our nation relies on critical minerals for everything from consumer goods to defense technologies, and a dependence on foreign adversaries for these materials is a national security vulnerability we cannot afford,” said Young. “Negotiating more trade agreements on critical minerals with trusted partners will help shore up our supply of these resources, protect American interests, and strengthen our national security.”
“Working with allies and partners to strengthen supply chains for critical minerals will help our national security and position us to play a leading role in producing the technologies that will define the rest of the 21st Century,” said Coons. “The STRATEGIC Act will decrease our dependence on unreliable entities and strengthen America’s access to the resources we need.”
The U.S. Geological Survey’s list of 50 critical minerals includes materials like lithium, titanium, and cobalt, which are essential to our economy, infrastructure, and military capabilities. These minerals are vital inputs for technologies ranging from smartphones and electric vehicle batteries, to solar panels and wind turbines.
Experts have become increasingly concerned with the global reliance on China for critical minerals, arguing it poses a significant risk to national security. This legislation addresses these challenges by diversifying our trade partnerships and encouraging investment in domestic processing to strengthen U.S. critical mineral supply chains.
Specifically, the STRATEGIC Minerals Act would:
- Authorize the President to negotiate covered free trade agreements for critical minerals
- Expand U.S. funding opportunities for overseas critical minerals projects through the Inflation Reduction Act’s 30D electric vehicle tax credit and the Defense Production Act
- Prohibit critical minerals negotiations with countries designated as nonmarket economies unless approved by Congress
Hickenlooper has introduced several bills that aim to increase the U.S. supply of critical minerals to strengthen U.S. economic and national security, as well as support the transition to clean energy. His other bills include the:
- Critical Materials Future Act, which seeks to establish a pilot program for the Department of Energy to financially support domestic critical material processing projects.
- National Critical Minerals Council Act, which establishes a National Critical Minerals Council to develop and implement a national critical mineral strategy and coordinate our federal investments and research.
- Unearth Innovation Act, which creates a Mining and Mineral Innovation Program within the Department of Energy to drive the responsible production of domestic critical minerals, with a focus on minimizing the environmental impact of mining.
- Global Strategy for Securing Critical Minerals Act, which works to ensure that the U.S., its allies, and global partners can count on a diverse and secure end-to-end supply of critical minerals.
- Enhancing Public-Private Sharing on Manipulate Adversary Practices in Critical Minerals Projects Act, which directs the intelligence community to develop a strategy to improve information sharing with private sector companies regarding foreign adversaries’ attempts to thwart U.S. involvement in critical minerals, energy generation, and storage projects.
- Critical Minerals Security Act which directs the Department of the Interior to evaluate the global supply and ownership of critical minerals and make it easier for the U.S. to establish stable supply chains with international allies
Full text of the STRATEGIC Minerals Act is available HERE.
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