Bloomberg Government: https://www.bgov.com/news/T8T735KIJHGO
Bipartisan legislation introduced Tuesday aimed at reducing the world’s dependency on China for
critical minerals acknowledges the US’s vulnerability when it comes to producing elements and
metals essential for defense technology, renewable energy, and communications.
The bill, sponsored by Reps. Young Kim (R-Calif.) and Ami Bera (D-Calif.), seeks to strengthen US
partnerships with allies to overtake China’s global dominance of the critical minerals and rare
earths supply chains. While it alludes to boosting US production and processing capabilities, the
legislation represents more of a rallying cry to other nations to work with the US to pool resources
and develop stronger partnerships to secure critical mineral supply chains outside of China.
“Expanding U.S. mining, processing, and manufacturing is a necessary step to restore industrial
competitiveness and supply chain security,” said a bill summary from Kim’s office. “Yet, even with
revitalized a domestic sector, the U.S. must build a robust international ecosystem outside of
China.”
The US relies heavily on China for production, processing, and refining of many critical minerals,
including lithium, copper, and cobalt. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with officials from the
G7 nations Monday to urge them to reduce their dependency on China for critical minerals and rare
earths.
The legislation would designate an Office of Energy Security Compacts at the State Department to
act as a central shop for multiple agencies to support energy and mineral investments and
agreements abroad. It also would create a Bureau of Energy Security and Diplomacy at the State
Department, and it would formalize US participation in the Minerals Security Partnership, a
multilateral effort designed to build supply chains for critical minerals and create a database of
critical mineral projects to spur private sector investment.
