US proposed SECURE Act aims to offset China’s grip on critical minerals

US lawmakers last week introduced bipartisan legislation to create a new authority for a $2.5 billion critical minerals stockpile, aiming to counter China’s dominance of global supply chains.

The proposed Securing Essential and Critical US Resources and Elements (SECURE) Minerals Act would establish a Strategic Resilience Reserve (SRR) to support domestic production and processing of minerals vital to electrification, clean energy and national defense.  

China currently controls over 60% of the world’s mined rare earths and about 90% of their processing. The Asian nation also holds a major share of the refined production of lithium, graphite and cobalt, all minerals key to electrification, clean energy and national defense.

For lithium, China has created a huge glut that has driven down prices globally, rendering many projects in the West unprofitable. In the rare earth sector, it deployed export curbs that have also resulted in high prices.

US Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Todd Young (R-IN), alongside  Representatives Rob Wittman (R-VA-01) and John Moolenaar (R-MI-02), introduced new legislation to support domestic supply chains to meet national and economic security needs through the creation of a new SRR. 

The legislation has been introduced on a bicameral and bipartisan basis, reflecting early alignment across chambers and parties.

Critical minerals have emerged as a key chokepoint in the global economy, the lawmakers said. 

The SECURE Act would establish the SRR in an independent government corporation, run by a seven-member board appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. 

“China’s global dominance of critical minerals supply chains gives it significant leverage and leaves the U.S. vulnerable to economic coercion. This bipartisan legislation is a historic investment in making the U.S. economy more resilient and supporting good-paying jobs in key sectors like aerospace, autos and technology,” Senator Shaheen said in a news release.

 “Delivering much-needed stability to the market, providing targeted investments and stockpiling key inputs will help insulate the U.S. from foreign threats and will provide a significant, and cost effective, boost to the US economy.”

Path to law

Sahar Hafeez, senior counsel, international trade and national security matters at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman’s Washington DC office told MINING.com such legislation takes time and will involve subsequent edits and versions on the path to being passed into law. 

“We understand that the House Committee on Natural Resources is looking to schedule a mark-up and that the Senate is aiming for including this as part of the NDAA (US National Defense Authorization Act),” Hafeez said in an email. 

The bill establishes new statutory authority to create a $2.5 billion strategic reserve, rather than relying on pre-existing stockpiling frameworks. It does not amend legacy statutes such as the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act of 1939, she confirmed. 

“From a national security and supply-chain resilience perspective, the legislation prioritizes domestic projects and US-based supply chains, as well as initiatives that incorporate recycling and unconventional feedstocks,” Hafeez said.

“It also targets materials where US import dependence is effectively 100%, which could potentially include projects from foreign sources, particularly where DFC (Development Finance Corporation) authorities are leveraged. The legislation also provides that partner governments, upon approval by the Reserve, can make capital contributions for financing and acquiring for the Reserve.”

As Congress debates the details, the SECURE Act signals growing urgency in Washington to address mineral supply vulnerabilities.

Whether through this bill or a revised successor, lawmakers appear increasingly aligned on one point: securing critical minerals will remain a central pillar of US economic and security policy in the years ahead.