China recently launched another attack in what has been called “supply chain warfare” when it banned the export of certain rare minerals to the U.S. While this may not be on the radar of most Americans, it is a critical move that impacts many important technologies critical to our everyday lives and our national security. Rare earth minerals are used in superconductors, wind turbines and electric vehicles, as well as items ranging from camera lenses to catalytic converters in gasoline vehicles.

This is just another glaring example of why we need to “Build, baby, Build.” When we rely on untrustworthy governments like China for critical resources, we put our security and our livelihoods on the line. Building the infrastructure we need and sourcing the resources we use here at home is how we take back our security and our prosperity.

Here’s some facts on China’s rare earth mineral monopoly:

• China mines or produces about 60 percent of the world’s rare earth metals, and the country controls nearly 90 percent of the world’s processing of these minerals.
• The last two private and foreign-owned rare earth refineries in China have been acquired by state-owned companies, meaning the Chinese government now operates ALL refineries in the country.
• China has built this industry on environmental destruction and human rights violations. Their mining operations produce “cancer villages” with poisoned water and soil around its mines. They have used forced labor of religious minorities to produce other important minerals.

Only one rare earth mine operates in the U.S. in Mountain Pass, California. The mine has traditionally sent its minerals to China for processing but has been working to build processing capacity on site in the U.S. It employs “state-of-the-art environmental systems” to ensure their operations are safe and clean.

China has proven again and again that it cannot be trusted to operate on a level playing field economically. Their technologies cannot be trusted because they may compromise our security. And, they cannot be trusted to treat our world’s environment in a healthy and clean way, like we do in the United States.

As we at TEA have been saying: the U.S. needs to “Build, baby, Build.” In this case, we need the infrastructure and industry to mine and process these minerals here on U.S. soil.