NAM Releases Critical Minerals Policy Agenda
Critical minerals are essential for manufacturing—from personal devices to automobiles to defense equipment and beyond. But China has cornered global critical mineral supply chains, weaponizing access to these vital inputs for geopolitical gain.
- Today, the NAM has laid out a comprehensive policy agenda to jump-start America’s production of and access to these critical minerals. This builds on the NAM’s extensive advocacy urging policymakers help to identify and secure new sources of critical minerals—which is an economic and security imperative.
New from the NAM: In its new policy agenda, “ Unearthing Mineral Solutions: A Comprehensive Critical Minerals Agenda for Manufacturers in America,” the NAM sounds the alarm about America’s dangerous reliance on foreign sources.
- “The U.S. is 100% import reliant for 13 critical mineral commodities included on the 2025 U.S. Geological Survey List of Critical Minerals—and more than 50% import reliant for an additional 20,” it underscores.
The game plan: To meet this challenge, the NAM recommends a two-pronged policy agenda, with domestic and international solutions.
- On the domestic side, policymakers should focus on permitting reform, financial incentives, investments in technology and processing and workforce development.
- On the international side, policymakers should cultivate new pipelines of critical minerals in partnership with allied countries to diversify global sources and dismantle market-distorting practices.
Domestic fixes: The NAM offers a comprehensive list of reforms to expand U.S. production of critical minerals, recommending that policymakers take the following steps:
- Streamline permitting for manufacturers through targeted reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.
- Make the Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit permanent and further expand federal support for critical minerals projects.
- Invest more in critical minerals mapping, recycling and recovery, alongside exploring substitutions for these minerals and boosting processing capabilities.
- Build a workforce prepared for today’s innovations in mining and refining by partnering with industry on workforce programs like those highlighted by the proposed Mining Schools Act.
International solutions: The U.S. must leverage its alliances and secure plurilateral trade agreements and other international partnerships across the entire critical minerals’ life cycle, from R&D to recycling. To rebalance the global mineral market, the NAM recommends that policymakers do the following:
- Explore strategic joint financing between the U.S. and partner governments, using agencies like the Export-Import Bank of the United States, while securing “first rights” protections for U.S. investors on new critical minerals projects and other favorable trade provisions.
- Work with partner nations to dismantle predatory marketplace distortions, including by establishing an information clearinghouse for clear and accurate data on global mineral production and combatting regulatory arbitrage and the abuse of export restrictions.
The bottom line: “The cost of inaction is too great. China’s dominance over critical minerals is the result of decades of industrial strategy, and America requires bold and strategic action to reset this dynamic,” the NAM concluded.
- “Manufacturers urge policymakers to advance these comprehensive solutions to protect our national security and empower American competitiveness for the 21st century.”
Consistent advocacy: This policy agenda builds on its Comprehensive Critical Minerals Strategy, a two-pronged policy framework for the administration and Congress that the NAM released in March.
NAM in the news: Inside Trade covered the agenda in an exclusive and spoke with NAM Vice President of International Policy Andrea Durkin and NAM Vice President of Domestic Policy Chris Phalen (Inside Trade, subscription).
