In a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) spoke about potential ways to reduce U.S. reliance on Chinese minerals like lithium.
00:00I think we're still morning, so good morning and welcome to East Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee's hearing titled Breaking China's Chokehold on Critical Mineral Supply Chain.
00:13I want to thank our witnesses for joining us this morning.
00:16Critical minerals, lithium, cobalt, real-earth elements, and others are the building blocks of modern technology, powering electric vehicles, microchips, and advanced defense systems.
00:32Global demand for these minerals is surging, with lithium demand alone growing nearly 30% annually from 2021 to 2024, driven by rising electric vehicle battery production.
00:49Yet, the People's Republic of China, or PRC, controls 92% of global real-earth element processing and dominates the manufacturing of battery and magnet components.
01:02This chokehold, reinforced by China's tens of billions in global mining investments and tactics like price manipulation and export restrictions, poses a direct threat to the United States and our allies.
01:18While the U.S. possesses significant mineral resources, domestic production alone cannot meet the speed or scale of this demand.
01:28The U.S. manufacturing, they operate, their operation costs, increase significantly in the region, increasing the regional bureau.
01:41It will take decades to permit a natural mining in America.
01:47Moreover, the federal government lacks the financial capacity to fully subsidize the level of investment needed to drive large-scale private sector investment expansion of domestic production.
02:02Relying sorely on domestic solutions is insufficient, therefore.
02:06So, we need a bold global strategy to secure resilient, diversified supply chains free from Chinese control.
02:16The current geopolitical landscape offers an opportune window to act.
02:21The recent developments, such as President Trump's critical minerals agreement with Ukraine, and the U.S. facilitated peace deal in the Democratic Republic of Congo, opened new opportunities to access vital resources.
02:37We've also seen coordination, like the recently announced Quad Critical Minerals Initiative, underscored the importance of critical minerals to broader regional engagement.
02:51As the administration renegotiates trade relationships, we can strengthen partnerships with our allies to build non-Chinese supply chains, enhancing both economic and national security.
03:04So, today's hearing, we will explore these challenges and opportunities.
03:11We will examine how to build a proactive global strategy to establish supply chains free from Chinese dominance.
03:19So, our goal today is very clear.
03:21To ensure the United States and its allies have secure, reliable access to the critical minerals that will define the future of technology and security.
03:31I look forward to a productive discussion.
03:34And now, let me now recognize the ranking member from California, Representative Bera, for his opening speech.
