WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At a hearing today before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, Jeff Green testified that the U.S. has lost critical supply chain capabilities and significant technological capital to China and that the lack of a deliberately thought-out U.S. policy for strategic and critical materials has resulted in economic and national security vulnerabilities. The hearing on China’s Global Quest for Resources and Implications for the United States examined Chinese efforts to acquire and manage various natural resources. Mr. Green focused on Chinese industrial and natural resource policies, as well as enabling U.S. policies, that have allowed China to dominate global rare earth material supply.
“Despite having considerable rare earth deposits domestically, the U.S. has become reliant on China for nearly all rare earth imports,” Mr. Green stated. “There is not a deliberate U.S. Government plan. We have, in essence, defaulted… inactivity has become our plan.”
The Chinese dominate all stages of the rare earth supply chain through a deliberate government policy that considers how strategic and critical materials fundamentally fuel economic growth, Mr. Green noted.
To mitigate U.S. economic and national security vulnerabilities, Mr. Green offered recommendations for inclusion in future legislation. “We, in the United States, now face a choice. We can continue to ignore this to our detriment, or we can lay the foundation for American success in the 21st century.”
Jeff Green is the President and founder of J.A. Green & Company and a renowned advocate for the rare earth and strategic materials industries.