Lankford Introduces Bill to Reduce US Dependence on China and Other Adversaries for Critical Minerals

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) reintroduced the Intergovernmental Critical Minerals Taskforce Act to decrease the United States’ reliance on adversarial nations like China 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 energy solutions and give US suppliers a seat at the table.”   

China is currently the dominant supplier for more than half of America’s critical mineral imports. These minerals are essential for the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries, military equipment, and other technology crucial to American economic competitiveness and homeland security. The bill would address this threat to our manufacturing supply chains by creating an intergovernmental task force to find opportunities for increased domestic production and recycling of critical minerals. Lankford was joined on the bill by Senator Gary Peters (D-MI).

The Intergovernmental Critical Minerals Taskforce Act requires the President 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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