Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi Presses Trump Administration on Use of Critical Minerals By CCP As Economic Coercion
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, ahead of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party’s hearing titled “United We Stand: Strategies to Counter PRC Economic Coercion Against Democracies,” Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) sent two letters to senior administration officials demanding stronger action to confront the CCP’s weaponization of global critical mineral supply chains.
In a letter to Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffery Kessler, Krishnamoorthi underscored the urgent need to secure access to rare earth elements essential to U.S. defense and technology industries—while resisting CCP efforts to extract American intellectual property and force economic concessions.
“It is unacceptable that U.S. technology and defense industries can be held captive by the CCP’s whims,” Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi wrote to Kessler. “In seeking a license for the export of rare earth elements, the PRC central government requires detailed information—such as detailed diagrams of product designs—about the end-use of the rare earth elements. This follows a playbook of tactics the CCP has used to steal U.S. secrets and innovation.”
Simultaneously, Krishnamoorthi called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a second letter to redouble its leadership of the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP)—a multilateral alliance to build sustainable critical mineral supply chains outside CCP control.
“The best way to combat these export controls is to work with our allies and partners to diversify supply chains away from the PRC,” Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi wrote to Secretary Rubio. “Overreliance on any single country for critical minerals exposes domestic manufacturers to market manipulation, supply chain disruptions, and economic coercion”.
Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi emphasized that Wednesday’s hearing, featuring former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, would further examine how the CCP uses economic tools—including rare earth dominance—to coerce democracies.
“The CCP is leveraging its control over critical mineral supply chains to economically coerce the United States and our allies,” said the Ranking Member. “We must respond with both urgency and unity—investing in domestic capacity, strengthening export controls, and doubling down on multilateral efforts like the MSP. Our economic security is national security, and we cannot allow Beijing to hold our industries hostage.”
Background
The PRC controls over 90% of global rare earth processing capacity.
In April 2025, the PRC tightened export restrictions on essential minerals like samarium, terbium, gadolinium, and dysprosium.
The Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) has launched over 30 supply chain projects with allies like South Korea, Australia, and Tanzania.
Today’s hearing marks the latest in a series of Committee efforts to counter Beijing’s economic coercion and support democratic resilience.
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