Lankford Continues to Push for Reduced Dependence on China for Critical Minerals

WASHINGTON, DC – Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced legislation to reduce the United States’ reliance on China and other adversarial nations for critical minerals.

“The United States should not depend on communist China to keep our critical mineral supply chain running. Relying on China for critical minerals means relying on our adversary for batteries, medical supplies, and military equipment,” said Lankford. “We need to prioritize American-produced and made energy solutions and give US suppliers a seat at the table.” 

“The United States’ reliance on China for critical minerals creates serious vulnerabilities for our national security,” said Romney. “The task force this legislation creates would pull in stakeholders from across government to help identify how we can strengthen our supply chains and bolster production of critical minerals here at home.”

“Our manufacturing sector and our global economic competitiveness depend on reliable access to critical minerals. Our nation’s dependence on adversarial nations like China for critical minerals poses serious national security and economic threats,” said Peters. “This bill will strengthen our domestic critical minerals supply chain, create good-paying jobs, and ensure our advanced manufacturing sector can continue to compete on the global stage.”

Background:

Critical minerals and rare earth metals are used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries, military equipment, and other technology that is vital to American economic competitiveness and homeland security. China is currently the largest source for more than half of the critical minerals on the US Geological Survey’s 2022 list that the United States imports, such as lithium and cobalt. The senators’ bill would address this threat to our manufacturing supply chains by creating an intergovernmental task force to identify opportunities to increase domestic production and recycling of critical minerals.

The Intergovernmental Critical Minerals Task Force Act requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director to create a task force and appoint representatives from federal agencies who must consult with state, local, and Tribal governments. The task force will work to determine how to address national security risks associated with America’s critical mineral supply chains and identify new domestic opportunities for mining, processing, refinement, reuse, and recycling of critical minerals. The legislation would also require the task force to publish a report to Congress and publish findings, guidelines, and recommendations to combat the United States’ reliance on China and other foreign nations for critical minerals.

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