Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz
A heavy reliance on imports for a long list of minerals and metals critical to American supply chains could be a stumbling block for the Biden administration's ambitious "Build Back Better" agenda.
"From the largest infrastructure plan since the Eisenhower interstate highway system, to an aggressive plan for a national energy transition, the Biden administration's agenda will require an immense amount of minerals," National Mining Association President and CEO Rich Nolan inked in a June letter.
The United States, however, depends on foreign countries for more than 50% of its supply of 46 out of 63 minerals, metals, and groups of elements tracked by the U.S. Geological Survey, including 100% import-reliant for 17 of them.
The list of mined commodities for which the U.S. is reliant on foreign nations for most of its supply is littered with high-tech minerals and metals needed for renewable energy, electric vehicles, consumer electronics and military hardware – cobalt, gallium, graphite, indium, manganese, niobium, rare earths, tellurium, and vanadium are among the high-tech and energy elements at the top of this list.
In addition to the inherent risks to American supply chains, social and environmental baggage often accompanies critical minerals and metals imported from countries with lessor regard for human rights and the environment.
"American manufacturing and technological development can't be beholden to the whims of foreign...
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