Matthew Kandrach – President, CASE
June 18, 2020

After the Arab oil embargo in 1973, the United States responded by sharply reducing its reliance on imported oil. Today our nation faces another challenge from abroad, but we can’t wait until things get worse before taking action.

The unfortunate reality is that our national security and economic well being are at risk due to a heavy dependence on imported minerals and metals, ranging from commodity metals such as platinum and zinc to rare earth minerals. These materials are needed for strategic weapons systems and clean-energy technologies as well as laser-guided missiles and electric vehicles.

Although we have vast mineral and metal resources here in the United States, many domestic mines have closed in the face of competition from cheaper imports. Never mind that some mining is being done in countries with less responsible governments, including those that ignore inconvenient international standards on practices like child labor. The amount of minerals and metals that the United States imports has doubled in the past 20 years, and it’s continuing to grow.

Today the United States depends entirely on imports for 18 key minerals and metals and is at least 50 percent reliant on imports for another 32 minerals that the Defense and Interior departments consider essential for the U.S. economy and national security.

China is the world’s leading exporter of minerals and metals, and the primary supplier of rare earth minerals that the United States needs for laser-guided missiles, satellites, advanced aircraft, tanks, and ships. And on the commercial side, the United States is beholden to China for supplies of lithium, graphite and cobalt—three minerals used in the production of batteries for electric vehicles and electric grid storage. Half of the minerals in greatest demand come from China.

But U.S.-China relations are strained and Beijing has threatened to embargo some critically important minerals as leverage to achieve geopolitical gains. Our government has every reason to be concerned. Embargoes are deadly for an economy and intolerable for national security.

Import dependence and a lack of domestic mining capacity is symptomatic of growing problems in the global supply chain. This became evident when the COVID-19 crisis yielded shortages in one country after another.

The upshot is that the United States can no longer take mineral access for granted. In 2010, China imposed an embargo on the export of rare earths to Japan during a dispute over shipping rights in the China Sea. And during trade negotiations in 2019, China threatened to halt the sale of rare earth minerals to the U.S. We have no time to waste in reducing our reliance on China for imported minerals.

There are a number of actions Congress can take to promote the security of mineral supplies. U.S. manufacturers are right to call attention to the higher cost of minerals produced in domestic mines compared to minerals imported from other countries. But legislation has been introduced to compensate manufacturers for the difference. A measure is also pending to expedite the permitting process for new mines, reducing the time it takes to obtain mining approval from seven years or more down to three years.In the 1970s, there were those who questioned whether energy independence was an achievable goal. Today, America is the world leader in oil and natural gas production.

By all means, let’s bolster domestic mining. Continuing dependence on imported minerals could mean perpetual economic crises, with unpredictable consequences. We have vast quantities of minerals in the western United States, mainly on public lands. Making use of them is in our national interest.