US House Wants to Reduce Rare Earth Dependence on China

The US House of Representatives from both parties put forward a motion to encourage domestic rare earth production in the United States in order to reduce the United States' dependence on China for the minerals used in technology manufacturing.

According to a report by VOA, the bill, called the "Reclaiming American Rare Earths (RARE) Act", was introduced by Congressmen Lance Gooden, R-Texas, and Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas that aims to establish tax incentives for the domestic production of rare earth elements (REEs) and minerals.

According to reports, the bill has now been co-signed and supported by five other Texas state congressmen. At the same time, Republican Senator Ted Cruz also expressed support for the House of Representatives motion. He had previously proposed a bill in the Senate to encourage rare earth production in the United States.

Gooden's office stated that the Department of the Interior has designated 35 of these rare earth minerals as 'critical', and the United States sources fourteen of them entirely from foreign suppliers. China is a leading supplier for twenty-two of the thirty-five. The RARE Act is specifically designed to change that.

In this regard, Gooden said: "A reliable supply of these materials is essential to American economic and security interests. We shouldn't have to rely on the Chinese Communist Party for our critical military and communications technology. Our future technological capacity will depend on our ability to cultivate an economic environment that is favorable to robust domestic production of these resources. By decreasing our dependence on China, the RARE Act would strengthen our national security, spur American innovation, grow our economy, and ensure the United States has the resource independence required to cement our leadership in technologies that define the 21st century."

The latest legislation was co-authored by Republican Lance Gooden and Democrat Vicente Gonzalez. It is similar to the legislation introduced in May this year by Republican Senator Ted Cruz, Bloomberg reported. The move would give tax incentives for mining companies as well as other firms involved in the reclaiming and recycling of critical minerals and metals from the US deposits.

Japan's Kyodo News pointed out that 80% of the rare earth in the US depend on China's imports. REEs are important raw materials for military and high-tech industries, and related industries in the United States also rely on Chinese REEs.

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