President Biden is directing federal agencies to determine vulnerabilities in U.S. supply chains, including for batteries that power electric vehicles and critical minerals that are key components in everything from defense technologies to renewable energy.
Biden will sign an executive order later Wednesday directing federal agencies to identify risks to those supply chains, as well as the supply chains for pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, within 100 days. Federal agencies would then conduct a more in-depth review over the next year to strengthen the U.S. supply chains for various industries, including energy and transportation, according to a White House fact sheet.
“While we cannot predict what crisis will hit us, we should have the capacity to respond quickly in the face of challenges,” the fact sheet said.
Biden will sign the executive order after a meeting with bipartisan House and Senate lawmakers on U.S. supply chains. Many Republican lawmakers, as well as some Democrats, have raised alarms that the United States is too dependent on foreign nations, especially China, for critical minerals and materials.
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The mining industry, too, has aimed to convince Biden that expanding production of critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, graphite, and rare earth elements is a necessary step to meet aggressive climate targets.
Jennifer Granholm, Biden’s nominee to lead the Energy Department, appears to agree with that sentiment. During her confirmation hearing, she said there are methods to mine critical minerals “in a way that respects the environment,” and she backed the agency’s role in supporting their production.
“We don’t want to be under the thumb of China or other countries that corner the market on minerals,” Granholm said.
The Trump administration, in its waning days, had taken steps to support critical minerals, including by issuing guidance encouraging critical minerals projects to apply for the Energy Department’s loan guarantee program. The Biden team has said it will maintain that guidance, but it is unclear which other of the Trump administration’s policies it will support.
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The White House fact sheet previewing the executive order notes the importance of developing domestic supply chains for critical minerals.
“While the U.S. is a net exporter of electric vehicles, we are not a leader in the supply chain associated with electric battery production,” the White House fact sheet says. “The U.S. could better leverage our sizable lithium reserves and manufacturing know-how to expand domestic battery production.”
Nonetheless, Biden is likely to get pushback from some environmentalists who would prefer not to see any expansion of mining in the U.S.
