"It's too early to tell how the bill, if passed, could align with the White House's policy, but whatever the approach, the U.S. is in a crunch to drastically reduce its reliance on China, after Beijing used its dominance of the critical minerals market to gain leverage in the trade war with Washington. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a one-year truce in October, by which Beijing would continue to export critical minerals."
"The bill that Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., introduced Thursday would favor a more market-based approach by setting up the independent body charged with building a stockpile of critical minerals and related products, stabilizing prices, and encouraging domestic and allied production to help ensure stable supply not only for the military but also the broader economy and manufacturers."
A bipartisan proposal would create a new agency with $2.5 billion to boost production of rare earths and other critical minerals. The Trump administration has taken aggressive steps to reduce Chinese dominance of markets used in cellphones, electric vehicles, jet fighters and missiles. The U.S. faces urgent pressure to cut reliance on China after Beijing used market dominance for leverage in the trade war. The Pentagon spent nearly $5 billion to secure access, while the government has taken equity stakes and guaranteed prices for some commodities. The proposed agency would build stockpiles, stabilize prices, and encourage domestic and allied production.
Read at Fortune
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