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As diplomatic and trade relations between the United States and China continue to deteriorate, members of the U.S. House of Representatives from both sides of the political aisle have joined forces to launch a bipartisan caucus to “focus on ways to increase domestic production of specialized minerals used to make missiles, cell phones and other high-tech equipment.”

The “Critical Materials Caucus,” which has been approved by the House Administration Committee’s leadership, will be chaired by U.S. Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), and Guy Reschenthaler (R-Penn.) and will, according to news reports, “initially focus on legislation Swalwell has introduced to permanently fund rare earths research at U.S. Department of Energy laboratories.”

Against the backdrop of a highly partisan political climate in Washington, D.C., the move is encouraging, and bears testimony to the urgency of our critical mineral supply chain woes, which the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has brought to the forefront.

With the specter of material supply cutoffs from China looming, Rep. Swalwell told Reuters: 

“All of us want to make sure America addresses this national security issue (…)I don’t consider China an ally country.” 

Rep. Reschenthaler added: 

“It is more important than ever for our nation to work towards achieving critical material independence.”

While the caucus will initially start in the House, staffers have indicated that it could potentially expand to the U.S. Senate.

We’ll be keeping tabs on the caucus’s work in the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned for updates.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has served as an eye-opener to many Americans with regards to our critical mineral resource dependencies, U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette calls for strong U.S. action to secure our “most critical supply chains” in a new piece for The Hill.

Arguing that “predominantly through research and development, the Department of Energy (DOE) is playing an important role in the Trump administration’s efforts to do just that,” Brouilette says the main areas of focus in DOE’s efforts to reduce import reliance are “critical minerals, uranium, and critical infrastructure components.”

He goes on to provide examples of DoE initiatives for all three focal areas, which range from testing the viability of REE extraction from coal over the Nuclear Fuel Working Group’s development of a “Strategy to Restore American Nuclear Energy” to a DoE-led interagency effort to eliminate vulnerabilities in the United States’ Bulk Power System (BPS).

The human and economic toll of the pandemic notwithstanding, it has been encouraging to see that in the wake of COVID-19, “after long period of inaction, the U.S. Government seems to be viewing strategic materials and critical minerals issues with a new seriousness.”

China’s recent threat to impose sanctions on U.S.-based advanced aerospace and military technology company Lockheed Martin in the form of cutting of material supply including REEs and imposing business restrictions on suppliers of the company only underscores the urgency of the situation, and makes clear that China will not shy away from once more playing the“Rare Earths card.”

With our over-reliance on foreign (and especially Chinese) critical minerals stretching far beyond the Rare Earths, there really should be no further warnings needed for the U.S. to take decisive  — yet because of the complexity of the situation well-thought-out — action to “decouple and control” our critical mineral resource supply chains.

In a new piece for The Economic Standard, ARPN’s Daniel McGroarty discusses critical mineral resource challenges associated with “the great U.S.-China decoupling.”  He does so against the backdrop of the U.S. decision to ban Huawei’s 5G network and imposition of travel sanctions on Huawei employees — a move McGroarty says may well be called the “first battle of (…) more

The coronavirus pandemic may have torn through communities, brought public life to a halt, thrown markets into turmoil, and laid bare the extent of our complex and deep critical mineral resource dependencies. It has not  — thankfully, considering the materials challenges we’re up against — stopped the ongoing materials science revolution. As policy makers and industry (…) more

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic tearing through our communities is more than a health crisis — it has “exposed the fragility and flaws of globalized supply chains and extensive offshore production, especially drugs and medical gear,” writes Austin Bay in a new column for Townhall with a special emphasis on China.   Hopes that China would liberalize in the (…) more

It’s that time of the year again – Independence Day is upon us.  This year, things are different, though. If you’re like us, it kind of snuck up on you, and it took seeing the booths selling fireworks in the parking lots to realize it’s July already.  After all, we just came off the longest month of (…) more

Copper is arguably one of the key mainstay metals and building blocks of modern society.  However, in recent years — and most certainly over the past few months as the coronavirus pandemic has spanned the globe, its antimicrobial properties — known and appreciated already by the Ancients — have re-entered the spotlight. Reports of novel (…) more

In a timely hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, witnesses discussed the urgency of securing U.S. mineral supply chains in a post-COVID context.  Committee Chair Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who has long been an advocate of comprehensive mineral resource policy reform set the stage arguing that “[t]he pandemic has brought (…) more

***posted by Daniel McGroarty*** As demand for renewable energy continues to grow despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Department of State hopes to expand the Energy Resource Governance Initiative (ERGI) – an initiative launched last year by the United States and joined by ten other countries, including Canada, Australia and Brazil – aimed at improving supply chain security (…) more

After decades of watching “China become the world’s workshop as it snatches up industries, jobs and critical supply chains, [i]t’s time to restructure the global economy in our favor, and that means decisive action to shore up our most important industries,” writes Brig. Gen. John Adams (U.S. Army, retired), president of national security consulting firm Guardian Six (…) more