WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Chairman John Moolenaar and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party announced the formation of a Policy Working Group focused on countering the Chinese Communist Party's control of critical mineral supply chains. Critical minerals are used in semiconductors, wind turbines, and electric vehicles.
The Critical Minerals Policy Working Group will be led by Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) and Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL). Reps. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), and Ben Cline (R-VA) will also serve on this group.
This Policy Working Group will consist of Select Committee members tasked with producing legislation and raising awareness through Committee events to counter the CCP's dominance in critical minerals. Their work will build upon the Select Committee's December report titled "Reset, Prevent, Build: A Strategy to Win America's Economic Competition with the Chinese Communist Party." This report outlined a strategy to reset U.S. economic and technological competition with China and highlighted American reliance on Chinese critical minerals.
“Critical minerals are the building blocks of everything from basic consumer goods to advanced military technology. America’s reliance on the Chinese Communist Party’s control of the critical mineral supply chain would quickly become an existential vulnerability in the event of a conflict," said Chairman Moolenaar. "The CCP has already weaponized its monopoly on some minerals by imposing export restrictions on rare earth elements like gallium, germanium, and graphite, as well as mineral processing equipment. That’s why I am establishing this new working group that will help Congress declare independence from CCP-controlled supply chains."
Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi stated, “Establishing the critical minerals working group is another important step for our Committee to strengthen our nation’s critical mineral supply chains, reduce our reliance on foreign adversaries, and enhance our long-term national security.”
Rep. Wittman commented, “Dominance over global supply chains for critical mineral and rare earth elements is the next stage of great power competition,” adding that securing American access to these materials is integral for daily life technology and national defense.
Rep. Castor expressed her support by saying, “Securing critical minerals supply chains is a bipartisan imperative... Congress must move quickly to support new innovation in critical minerals recycling, substitution, and mining sustainability.”
The Critical Minerals Policy Working Group aims to create transparency into U.S. supply chain dependency for critical minerals and develop proposals including investments, regulatory reforms, and tax incentives to reduce that dependency.
