A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has unveiled the SECURE Minerals Act, a US$2.5 billion initiative designed to strengthen domestic supply chains for critical minerals essential to clean energy, electrification, and national defense, reducing reliance on foreign sources and safeguarding the US economy.
The SECURE Act was introduced by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Todd Young (R-IN), alongside Representatives Rob Wittman (R-VA) and John Moolenaar (R-MI). The legislation is intended to strengthen domestic supply chains and reduce US reliance on foreign sources, addressing both economic and national security concerns.
Under the bill, a Strategic Resilience Reserve (SRR) would operate as an independent government corporation, overseen by a seven-member board appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
Senator Shaheen emphasized the strategic significance of the initiative, noting that China’s control of critical minerals gives it leverage over the US economy and underscores the need for domestic resilience. The proposed reserve aims to stabilize the market, create jobs in industries such as aerospace, automotive, and technology, and provide a buffer against global supply disruptions.
Legal experts caution that the SECURE Act will undergo further refinement before it becomes law. Sahar Hafeez, Senior Counsel specializing in international trade and national security, explained that Congress is likely to consider amendments and may integrate the measure into larger legislative packages such as the National Defense Authorization Act.
The legislation establishes new authority for creating a strategic reserve rather than amending older stockpiling laws and emphasizes domestic projects, recycled materials, and alternative mineral sources. Additionally, the SECURE Act allows partner governments to contribute funding to the reserve with approval, expanding potential financing opportunities. It focuses on minerals where US import reliance is nearly total while supporting domestic projects and supply chains whenever possible.
China’s Dominance in Critical Minerals and Strategic Risks
Critical minerals are central to energy technologies, high-tech industries, defense, and advanced manufacturing. However, global supply chains are heavily dependent on China, creating strategic vulnerabilities. The International Energy Agency’s Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025 shows that China dominates the refining of 19 out of 20 key strategic minerals, with an average market share of 70%, a concentration that has grown in recent years. This reliance on a single supplier exposes industries to geopolitical tensions, trade disruptions, and technical failures.
China’s control is particularly pronounced in rare earth elements, which are critical for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, industrial motors, defense systems, and data centers. In 2024, China accounted for about 60% of global rare earth mining output and 91% of refining capacity. Its share of permanent magnet production has increased from 50% two decades ago to 94% today. This concentration makes global supply chains in energy, automotive, defense, and advanced technology highly susceptible to disruption.
Export controls have further intensified these risks. In April 2025, China imposed restrictions on seven heavy rare earths and related products, leading to shortages for US and European manufacturers and driving European prices up to six times domestic Chinese levels. By October, these controls expanded to include foreign-made products containing Chinese-sourced rare earths, additional elements such as holmium, erbium, and ytterbium, and essential processing equipment. These measures threaten production across sectors reliant on rare earths, including defense, aerospace, semiconductors, industrial motors, and AI data centers.
China also dominates lithium-ion battery supply chains. It controls over 80–95% of midstream and downstream production, including cathode precursors, anode materials, LFP cathodes, and battery cells. IEA stressed that new export restrictions could increase costs for electric vehicles and energy storage systems while creating vulnerabilities for strategic sectors such as defense, aerospace, AI, and medical devices.
Efforts to reduce dependency on China face structural challenges. Mining, refining, and magnet production projects outside China remain limited, and lead times for new projects often exceed eight years. Midstream battery material production outside China is insufficient to offset reliance on Chinese sources.
Some initiatives aim to diversify global supply chains. For example, France and Japan are collaborating to produce rare earth oxides in Lacq, France, linking different parts of the supply chain. Additional mining and refining projects are underway in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Tanzania, and India, and several permanent magnet manufacturing plants are starting operations in the United States, Estonia, Korea, Vietnam, and Germany.
More recently, the United States and Brazil formed a strategic partnership focused on rare earths. Following renewed diplomatic engagement between Presidents Trump and Lula da Silva in late 2025, the initiative seeks to leverage Brazil’s 21 million t of rare earth reserves to strengthen technological and defense capabilities in the Western Hemisphere. Preliminary meetings have involved officials, industry representatives, and financial institutions, though Brazil’s sector faces challenges, including limited investment and incomplete geological surveys covering only about 30% of its territory. Despite these efforts, the pace of development remains slow relative to demand, and permanent magnet capacity outside China is still notably lower than for mining and refining.
Diversification of battery supply chains faces similar constraints. While downstream battery cell production has expanded, midstream materials such as cathode precursors, anode materials, and LFP cathodes remain concentrated in China. Korea currently leads midstream production outside China but still depends on imports of key upstream inputs. The United States and Europe are expected to account for roughly 40% of capacity outside China by 2030, with projects under development to produce LFP cathode and anode materials. Despite these initiatives, reliance on Chinese supplies persists, underscoring the need for further investment, policy support, and international cooperation.
Global Coordination on Critical Mineral Security
Recognizing the risks of concentrated supply chains, global leaders are taking coordinated action. Last week, Mexico’s Minister of Finance Édgar Amador participated in a high-level meeting in Washington, D.C., with finance ministers from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the European Commission, and India. Discussions focused on diversifying supply chains and developing financial mechanisms to improve resilience, essential for modern technology, clean energy, and national security.
Officials emphasized the strategic importance of minerals such as lithium, cobalt, aluminum, and uranium, many of which face supply vulnerabilities due to scarcity, reliance on a limited number of sources, or lack of viable substitutes. The meeting highlighted the need for international cooperation and investment to strengthen the security and stability of critical mineral supply chains.
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