Findings

Congress finds the following: (1) Critical minerals, including rare earth elements, are essential for national security and economic resilience. (2) Processed critical minerals and their derivative products are key building blocks of the defense industrial base of the United States and integral to applications such as jet engines, missile guidance systems, advanced computing, radar systems, advanced optics, and secure communications equipment. (3) The United States remains heavily dependent on foreign sources of critical minerals which exposes the economy and defense sector to supply chain disruptions and economic coercion. (4) Foreign producers of critical minerals have engaged in price manipulation, overcapacity, and arbitrary export restrictions, using their supply chain dominance as a tool for geopolitical and economic leverage over the United States.