Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, introduced bipartisan legislation Tuesday to push the Defense Department to separate federal critical mineral supply chains from China.
The bill, co-sponsored by Republican Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, would direct the Department of Defense to develop a strategy for defense supply chains that aren’t dependent on mining or processing critical minerals by China, Russia, “or other geostrategic competitors or adversaries,” according to a press release.
The Defense Department would also be asked to explore using the Defense Production Act to expand critical mineral supply chains in the United States and recommend policy changes to promote supply chain independence.
“The Department of Defense should not be dependent on foreign adversaries like China for resources needed to make equipment and ammunition that are essential to our combat readiness and warfare capabilities,” Peters said in a statement.
“This bipartisan effort will help protect our national and economic security, strengthen our critical mineral supply chains, and ensure our military can procure the tools they need to defend our country.”
Romney said in a statement that the United States is “putting our national security and economic vitality at risk” by relying on adversaries for critical minerals used for defense.
The legislation comes as both parties in Washington raise concerns about China’s involvement in U.S. industry, particularly the automotive sector as it aims to ramp up electric vehicle production.
China dominates the global supply chain for lithium ion batteries, the primary battery technology used for electric vehicles today. While it doesn’t directly produce the majority of critical minerals used in batteries, it exercises control over supply chains by owning much of the world’s mineral refining and production — a crucial part of the process that turns minerals into usable components for batteries.
It also produces 78% of cathodes and 91% of anodes for EV batteries and 70% of battery cells.
Romney and Sullivan introduced similar legislation last December to the bill they introduced Tuesday with Peters.
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