Reps. Panetta, Kustoff Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Strengthen American Mineral Supply Chains

Washington, DC - United States Representatives Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) and David Kustoff (TN-08) introduced the bipartisan, bicameral,Restoring American Mineral Security (RAMS) Act, which would establish a Critical Minerals Security Alliance with America's global trading partners. Senators Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

Critical minerals are essential components of modern consumer and defense technologies, making control over their supply critical to the continued economic and national security of the United States. Establishing a formal Critical Minerals Security Alliance would help shore up our supply chains and ensure America is able to compete with foreign adversaries, like China and Russia, on the global stage as they flood the market with low quality minerals to artificially lower prices.

"If we don't want to lose out to the CCP and Russia in the race to control critical minerals, we need to get serious about strengthening our supply chains," said Rep. Panetta. "The RAMS Act confronts the underhanded tactics of our foreign adversaries head-on by creating a formal alliance to ensure we have a hand on the wheel when it comes to the critical minerals market. This is a commonsense step towards protecting our economic and national security interests."

"The United States cannot afford to depend on foreign adversaries for critical minerals," said Rep. Kustoff. "This legislation takes an important step to forge a strong partnership with allied countries, stop adversarial manipulation, and strengthen our U.S. national security. A reliable supply of critical minerals is essential for our economy, our military, and our long-term competitiveness."

The RAMS Act would reinvest future tariff revenue from critical mineral imports into a fund to support U.S. and allied critical mineral projects.

Admission into the Critical Minerals Security Alliance and any changes to it would be subject to Congressional approval. Member nations would be exempt from tariffs on critical minerals and on certain products made from them. The U.S. Trade Representative would have the authority to nominate countries, which agree to do the following, to join the Alliance:

• Increase tariff rates for critical minerals from foreign countries and/or entities of concern to match U.S. Section 301 tariff rates on China;
• Take steps to address unfair trade practices of non-members, including:
  • Pushing back against countries who are attempting to hide the country of origin of minerals they are shipping,
  • Screening their investments into non-member nations,
  • Ensuring effective trade remedies are in place to guard against underpricing and illicit subsidization;
• Meet and participate in regular discussions and share information on their critical mineral extraction and processing capacity.

Read the full bill text of the RAMS Act here.

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