New CNAS Report Highlights Rare Earths Supply Vulnerabilities
Last week, the Center for a New American Security released a report, which discusses the risks associated with U.S. reliance on others for its critical mineral supplies, including rare earths. The report concludes:
America’s vulnerability to mineral supply disruptions carries a number of persistent risks: high cost overruns for weapons that rely on key minerals, lags in military equipment delivery, leverage provided to supplier countries and an inability to fully develop clean energy technologies.
The report also lays out key recommendations for U.S. policymakers, some of which – such as stockpiling and developing new recycling technologies – have been mentioned before on this blog and in ASP’s recent rare earths report. In addition, the report recommends that the U.S. have a role in the management of critical materials, and that specifically the Department of Defense
…should be able to have contractual requirements that [defense supply] companies share information about their major supply chain vulnerabilities that can provide other countries with leverage over the United States or potentially cause major disruptions.
If implemented, this recommendation could shift some of the burden from DOD to defense suppliers for keeping track of supply chain vulnerabilities, thereby making it easier for the U.S. to determine which critical minerals are most vulnerable to supply disruptions.
