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Witnesses Call for Critical Minerals Tariffs on China During House Hearing

Witnesses at a July 15 House hearing called for tariff measures to reduce Chinese dominance of critical mineral supply chains, with former Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., saying that tariffs on China were necessary to "protect strategic industries by penalizing bad actors and keeping the U.S. prices competitive."

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Manchin said "China's critical mineral grip extends around the entire globe," and the U.S. must respond with tariffs to protect the "building blocks" of the U.S. economy and national security "as well those of our allies from China's market distortions and economic malfeasance."

Speaking at a hearing before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, Manchin said, "it's just the way the system works" and without tariff measures, China will "dump on us ... rare earths, whether it be lithium, graphite, germanium, whatever it may be." The federal government can be the "referee," he said, and "put the guardrails on that protects us to grow" along with partners such as Canada, Australia and Japan.

Fannon Global Advisors' Frank Fannon, a senior nonresident adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Critical Minerals Security Program, also called for tariff measures. He told the committee that "targeted tariffs is exactly the right approach," particularly because China violates environmental and human rights in its critical minerals industry "all the time." The Trump administration is "keen" to level the playing field with China by "increasing the costs on the Chinese side," Fannon said.

Jose Fernandez, undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment during the Biden administration, was cautious about endorsing "the overuse of tariffs" but said that "in the case of minerals, tariffs are one of the tools that we have in our toolbox."

Fernandez's testimony echoed the concerns of many who submitted public comments on the critical minerals Section 232 investigation, saying that tariffs will be ineffective if the U.S. has no means of accessing the minerals in question (see 2506100054).

There was broad agreement among the subcommittee members that the U.S. must take action to reduce Chinese control of supply chains, but only Democrat Jared Moskowitz of Florida mentioned tariffs as a possible tool. Moskowitz said he has "seen [the White House] working on this" but the Trump administration needs to communicate better with Americans: "You want to know why we're doing these tariffs with China, here is why."