Findings

Congress finds that— (1) current supply chains of critical minerals pose a great risk to the national security of the United States; (2) critical minerals are necessary for transportation, technology, renewable energy, military equipment and machinery, and other relevant sectors crucial for the homeland and national security of the United States; (3) in 2022, the United States was 100 percent import reliant for 12 out of 50 critical minerals and more than 50 percent import reliant for an additional 31 critical mineral commodities classified as critical by the United States Geological Survey, and the People’s Republic of China was the top producing nation for 30 of those 50 critical minerals; (4) as of July 2023, companies based in the People’s Republic of China that extract critical minerals around the world have received hundreds of charges of human rights violations; and (5) on August 29, 2014, the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body adopted findings that the export restraints by the People's Republic of China on rare earth metals, which harmed manufacturers and workers in the United States, violated obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and China’s Protocol of Accession to the World Trade Organization.