June 5, 2019

CASE today praised the Trump administration and Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt for the release of a comprehensive plan to tap into America’s vast mineral resources with increased efficiency and greater access for U.S. national and economic interests.

Dubbed “A Federal Strategy to Ensure a Reliable Supply of Critical Minerals,” the plan overhauls America’s inefficient and overly bureaucratic minerals permitting process and prioritizes locating new sources of critical metals for access. Current permitting regulations have led to our nation relying far too heavily on foreign nations for crucial minerals of which we have an ample supply.

“CASE has long been a vocal advocate in support of fixing America’s broken mineral permitting process, which can take up to seven years to bring crucial metals out of the ground necessary for our nation’s national and economic security. This blueprint from President Trump and Secretary Bernhardt is exactly what is needed to put America’s needs first, and once again make our nation the world leader in critical mineral production.

“It makes no sense for a nation such as ours with an ample supply of mineral resources to rely on foreign nations such as China for critical materials needed for manufacturing and high-level equipment. This plan is not only a boost for our economy, but also eliminates vulnerabilities in our national security by working to end America’s costly and unnecessary reliance on foreign minerals.”

In 2017 President Trump issued Executive Order 13817, A Federal Strategy to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals, calling on all federal agencies to coordinate ideas to reduce America’s reliance on foreign minerals and advance efficiencies for greater access to domestic metals.

The full plan can be found on this page.