The results of the 2024 presidential election presented an opportunity for the United States to chart a bold course in addressing one of the most pressing challenges of our time: China’s dominance in critical minerals and advanced manufacturing. While Washington has acknowledged the Chinese Communist Party as a grave threat to national security, action to address China’s control over America’s critical mineral supply has been insufficient. During our recent visits to South Korea and Japan, allies voiced alarm over Beijing’s readiness to leverage this control at our collective expense. Their warnings should not be ignored. 

This vulnerability jeopardizes our ability to win the competition over tomorrow’s technologies. If the right investments and policies are not advanced quickly, the economic and strategic ramifications could make the OPEC oil embargoes of the 1970s seem trivial by comparison. Without bolstering domestic and allied critical mineral production and processing, reforming regulatory frameworks, and securing the resources needed for energy transition and defense, the United States risks ceding technological and strategic leadership to China.