Last week, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Reps. Williams (R-NY), Bergman (R-MI), Hinson (R-IA), LaMalfa (R-CA), Lawler (R-NY), Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Carter (R-GA), and Moran (R-TX) sent a letter to the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the Secretary of Interior calling for increased domestic critical mineral production amid the ongoing global shortage of semiconductors, reliance on foreign adversaries such as the Chinese Communist Party, and the recent ban against Micron by Chinese cyberspace regulators.
“The Chinese Communist Party is a threat to American democracy, and we must respond with tough policies that will protect our domestic supply chains—especially for the critical minerals that play an indispensable role in our economy and the semiconductor industry,” said Rep. Newhouse. “Communities in Central Washington and across the nation thrive when our resources are sourced right here at home, and the Biden Administration must act now to empower domestic production and enhance our global competitiveness.”
Click here to read the full letter.
Background:
The semiconductor industry plays an indispensable role in our nation’s economy, powering a wide range of essential sectors. However, the ongoing global shortage of semiconductors, the United States’ reliance on the importation of materials from adversarial countries, and the recent ban against Micron by Chinese cyberspace regulators, only further demonstrate the need to maintain U.S. competitiveness in semiconductor production by reinforcing our domestic critical mineral supply chain.
Critical minerals, such as gallium, germanium, and tantalum, are essential to producing chips and are plentiful domestically. Gallium has deposits situated in the United States with over 46,000 metric tons of materials—yet more than 53% of the gallium our country uses is imported from China. In 2022 alone, gallium metal imports from China increased by an estimated 34% according to the United States Geological Survey’s Mineral Commodity Summaries of 2023.
This letter urges the Biden Administration to address our reliance on foreign critical minerals and empower domestic production—laying out steps to secure American semiconductor manufacturing, an industry essential to our position as a global leader. These include working to identify domestic critical mineral deposits and fully implementing the CHIPS and Science Act.
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