"Massive US Investment in Electric Vehicles Will Empower China:

Source:

https://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2021/09/02/massive_us_investment_in_electric_vehicles_will_empower_china_792541.html

"For most of my lifetime, the United States was dependent on oil from the Middle East to keep our economy fueled.

The reality dominated our foreign policy, which meant the necessary coddling of Arab monarchies such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

The events of 9/11 made it clear, though, that this dependence on the Middle East for our national energy supply was a grave national security risk.

That is why technological advances in drilling, new oil field discoveries, the expansion of natural gas and biofuels, and U.S. energy production exploding in the 2000s, freed us from reliance on oil imports.  

We also cannot ignore the economic benefits of energy independence.

It created hundreds of thousands of jobs — many which don’t require a college degree — and tens of billions in economic activity.

When progressives gloss over this reality, it hurts Democrats serving the millions of Blue Collar Americans who earn a living working in and around the fossil fuels industry.

Now, there are those in Congress and the environmental movement who want to move us completely away from fossil fuels, and require that all Americans drive and purchase electric vehicles (EVs).

... we do need to be cognizant of the national security risks associated with a massive investment in EVs, including the reliance on China for the rare earth minerals that are required in the construction of the batteries that power EVs.

Today, China accounts for 80-90 percent of the world’s rare earth mineral production.

China embraces this power and is rapidly increasing its refining and processing sectors.

President Biden’s climate envoy John Kerry recently stated: “It’s absolutely correct there is a [Chinese] cornering of the market with lithium and other rare earths.”

In response, the Biden administration is taking steps to expand domestic production of these rare earth minerals.

This June, the White House announced an Executive Order focused on protecting critical supply chains, saying
     “The Department of Defense (DOD) has announced an investment in the expansion of the largest rare earth element mining and processing company outside of China to provide the raw materials necessary to help combat the climate crisis.”

In addition, the bipartisan infrastructure bill, led by Senator Joe Manchin, passed the Senate

and “fully funds a program that West Virginia University has championed to extract rare earth elements from coal

and authorizes $140 million for a new facility to demonstrate the commercial-scale feasibility of rare earth elements refining and processing…”

However, these investments also illuminate reality:
   The U.S. will continue to struggle to produce these critical rare earth elements.

This means a massive investment in EVs creates national and energy security concerns because it empowers China. 

There are companies in Wyoming, Texas, and California looking at making massive investments in rare earth mineral mining.

However, China provides these materials at such low costs (because the government subsidizes those industries) that it makes it especially difficult for the U.S. private sector to receive a sufficient return on their investment.

Molycorp, a company in California that mined rare earth minerals, went bankrupt in 2015.

Also, because mining rare earth minerals means building massive facilities that rip open the earth, there are environmental concerns associated with this intensive process.

Ironically, the same environmentalists that urge investment in EVs also oppose building these mines.

An additional security concern is now the Taliban in Afghanistan controls the country’s rare earth materials mines.

In fact, during my time in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army, I witnessed Chinese mining interests operating there.

Keeping all of this in mind, it is a mistake for federal and state to make such massive investments in EVs

— including tax breaks for expensive, high-end EVs —

until we have alternatives to Chinese-produced rare earth minerals.

While we pursue the development of those materials, we should also consider investing in biofuels and clean fuels standards.

There are other options as well, such as hydrogen — which is Toyota’s bet for a greener future. 

EV supporters cannot insist this technology is the solution to our climate problems

without acknowledging the serious national security concerns with giving China so much dominance over transportation in the U.S.

Does anyone really believe that China won’t use their domination of the rare earth mineral markets to do us harm?"