Reliance Is Risk: Why America Must Secure Its Mineral Future

Reliance Is Risk: Why America Must Secure Its Mineral Future

As Congress returns from August recess and the nation heads into the final stretch of this mid-term election season, one issue cuts across party lines: America’s dangerous reliance on overseas minerals is a vulnerability we can no longer afford. Whether you prioritize national defense, advanced energy deployment or economic security, the truth is the United States must dramatically increase domestic mineral production across the board.

An Overseas Chokehold on Our Supply Chains

The numbers tell the story. The United States is 100 percent import-reliant for 16 minerals and is reliant on imports for more than one-half of the U.S. consumption for 54 nonfuel mineral commodities, according to the USGS 2026 Geological Survey. For rare earth elements, the foundation of everything from semiconductors to wind turbines, China controls approximately 90% of global processing capacity and leads production of 30 of 44 critical minerals the U.S. depends on most.

And China has made clear that mineral leverage is geopolitical leverage. When a single nation controls processing, supply chains become a tool of coercion against American defense capabilities, against our energy transition, against our economic security. Their trade restrictions and export controls only amplify that power. So, import reliance isn’t just an economic inefficiency – it’s a vulnerability that’s actively being weaponized against us.

National security strategists understand that minerals power advanced weaponry, munitions and the systems keeping Americans safe. Energy advocates recognize that an entire portion of our nation’s approach to power cannot happen without secure, domestic mineral supplies. No matter your priority, the answer is the same.

The Path Forward

It’s true that the Trump administration has taken historic steps to modernize our nation’s domestic minerals supply chains. Congress must build on that momentum by codifying permitting reform to remove bottlenecks that routinely stretch projects across decades.

This isn’t a distant policy debate. Every American relies on minerals for our phones, our vehicles, our power grids, our hospitals and our defense systems, and when China controls the supply chain, it controls our choices.

Rising costs, delayed innovation and national security gaps aren’t theoretical risks. They’re the cost of dependence. And Americans deserve better.