{"id":49216,"date":"2025-12-18T14:25:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T19:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cortezmasto.senate.gov\/?post_type=in_the_news&p=49216"},"modified":"2025-12-18T14:25:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T19:25:30","slug":"icymi-cortez-masto-for-the-hill-trumps-chaos-is-ceding-the-critical-mineral-space-to-china","status":"publish","type":"in_the_news","link":"https:\/\/www.cortezmasto.senate.gov\/es\/ultimas-noticias\/en-las-noticias\/icymi-cortez-masto-for-the-hill-trumps-chaos-is-ceding-the-critical-mineral-space-to-china\/","title":{"rendered":"ICYMI: Cortez Masto for The Hill: Trump\u2019s chaos is ceding the critical mineral space to China"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In Case You Missed It, <\/strong>U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) published an op-ed in The Hill calling for a new, more focused strategy to boost domestic production of critical minerals and curb China\u2019s influence in the global marketplace. She highlights President Trump\u2019s recent actions as examples of the current ineffective strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hill:<\/strong> Trump\u2019s chaos is ceding the critical mineral space to China<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Senator Catherine Cortez Masto<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As President Trump returned from his trip to Asia in October, he boasted that his bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping<\/a> was a \u201cspectacular success.\u201d<\/a> The reality is, he has little to show for it. After months of recklessly escalating tensions with Communist China, by far the world\u2019s largest supplier of rare earth minerals<\/a>, Trump\u2019s \u201cart of the deal\u201d only served to clean up messes he created and did virtually nothing<\/a> to curb China\u2019s influence on the critical mineral supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need a new strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critical minerals, including the especially important rare earth minerals, are essential to modern life. They\u2019re used in everything from smartphones to computers to cars. They are also essential to our national security and are key components in advanced weapons systems, aircrafts and missiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my home state of Nevada, we have enough lithium deposits to power the world with electric batteries for all kinds of vehicles, from semi-trucks to ambulances. Albemarle\u2019s Silver Peak facility in Nevada is currently the only lithium mine in the country<\/a>. I have worked with presidents of both parties, including Trump, to ensure we are supporting the good-paying jobs and the hardworking families who depend on that mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the abundance of some critical minerals in the U.S., we largely rely on China for our supply, as does the rest of the world. China currently owns 60 percent<\/a> of the world\u2019s production of rare earth minerals and 90 percent of processing capacity. China has repeatedly weaponized its near-monopoly on this technology against other countries, most recently against the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s my mission to ensure we\u2019re doing everything in our power to confront this generational economic challenge China poses. Unfortunately, instead of investing in American innovation, creating jobs, and encouraging our allies to decrease global reliance on China, Trump has chosen to impose blanket tariffs on our trading partners and cut key funding to support domestic critical mineral operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s so-called \u201creciprocal tariffs\u201d have caused confusion among our allies<\/a> that have robust critical mineral production \u2014 nations like South Korea, Australia and Canada \u2014 undermining our ability to work together to undercut the strength of China\u2019s critical mineral supply chains. Strategic, targeted tariffs on our adversaries can be good for businesses and for our national security, but this is the opposite of that; it\u2019s chaotic and isolating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s blanket tariffs even have a loophole<\/a> that allow hundreds of millions of dollars in Russian critical minerals like palladium to enter the U.S. without paying a single dollar in tariffs. A strategy that rewards our adversaries and punishes our allies makes no sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, the president has rolled back<\/a> key provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act that incentivize investing in domestic critical minerals. When congressional Republicans and Trump passed their billionaire tax giveaway bill<\/a>, they significantly weakened a key tax cut for Americans who produce critical minerals in the U.S. The administration has also unilaterally revoked funds for American companies that are building our critical mineral supply chain \u2014 and creating jobs \u2014 in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These strategies are misguided at best and irreparably damaging to our global competitiveness at worst. Instead, we should be focused on shoring up the critical mineral supply chain right here in the U.S., and that means investing in both America\u2019s critical minerals and those of our allies so we can better confront China\u2019s economic threat. I\u2019m working on legislation in the Senate to do just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My bipartisan bill with Sens. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the Rare Earth Magnet Security Act<\/a>, would not only strengthen our domestic supply chain, and therefore our national security, but also support good-paying American jobs. The Mountain Pass mine, which is 15 miles outside Primm, Nevada, employs about 600 Nevadans to mine and process over 15 percent of the world\u2019s rare earth minerals. However, China controls 90 percent of the world\u2019s manufacturing of these materials into rare earth magnets, which we need for our national defense and other essentials. This legislation would create a tax credit for American companies that process these rare earth minerals and manufacture the magnets instead of sending them to China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second bipartisan bill I\u2019m working on with Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) would establish a Critical Minerals Security Alliance with America\u2019s global trading partners. The Restoring American Mineral Security Act<\/a> would exempt nations who are members of this alliance from tariffs on critical minerals and on essential products made from them in return for them imposing tough tariffs on Chinese minerals. That way, we are leveraging our collective market power to ensure subsidized, dirty minerals from China aren\u2019t flooding the world market and undermining American firms. Additionally, this bill would direct future tariff revenue from critical mineral imports into a fund to support member countries\u2019 critical mineral projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we want to stem the influence of the Chinese Communist Party in the critical mineral supply chain, we must be smart and strategic about it. We can\u2019t dive headfirst into trade wars, alienate key allies, or take away incentives that strengthen domestic production. We must instead take swift action to protect our own national security, invest in American innovation and jobs, and boost domestic critical mineral production. Passing my legislation will aid in that effort, and now is the time to act. China can afford for us to wait; we can\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Case You Missed It, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) published an op-ed in The Hill calling for a new, more focused strategy to boost domestic production of critical minerals and curb China\u2019s influence in the global marketplace. She highlights President Trump\u2019s recent actions as examples of the current ineffective strategy. The Hill: Trump\u2019s chaos […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49216","in_the_news","type-in_the_news","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nICYMI: Cortez Masto for The Hill: Trump\u2019s chaos is ceding the critical mineral space to China - Senator Catherine Cortez Masto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cortezmasto.senate.gov\/news\/in-the-news\/icymi-cortez-masto-for-the-hill-trumps-chaos-is-ceding-the-critical-mineral-space-to-china\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ICYMI: Cortez Masto for The Hill: Trump\u2019s chaos is ceding the critical mineral space to China - Senator Catherine Cortez Masto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In Case You Missed It, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) published an op-ed in The Hill calling for a new, more focused strategy to boost domestic production of critical minerals and curb China\u2019s influence in the global marketplace. 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