US Is Vulnerable to China’s Lock on Key Minerals, Biden Aide Says
- Podesta compares risk to Europe’s past dependence on Russia
- IRA and Chips Act among US programs to reshape supply chains
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The US economy is vulnerable to China’s “lock” on critical mineral processing, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden said, likening the situation to the risk Europe faced from its reliance on Russia’s oil and gas amid its invasion of Ukraine.
“Quite frankly, we’re in a vulnerable position,” John Podesta, senior White House adviser for clean energy innovation and implementation, said Wednesday. “We can’t be in the position Europe was in front of the invasion of Ukraine,” he said. That would put the US at the mercy of “a country that has the potential to use its lock on supply chains to hold politically hostage decisions by governments,” he said.