The Impact of Critical Mineral Supply Chain on U.S. Defense Industry
Keywords:
United States, Critical Mineral Supply Chains, Defense Industry, Military Power, China Export Control LawAbstract
The United States defense industry, which relies on the import of critical minerals, has been one of the sectors affected by China's export controls on critical minerals, especially during Biden's administration, where critical minerals have become part of the trade competition between China and the United States. This article aims to study the impact of the critical minerals supply chain on the U.S. defense industry. This article suggests that the heavy reliance of the United States on critical minerals from China in the defense industry, along with China's dominance in the global critical minerals market, constitutes a significant condition affecting the production capacity of the U.S. defense industry, which is crucial to the United States' military power. The asymmetrical interdependence between the United States and China has created a vulnerability in the U.S. dependence on critical mineral supply chains, over which China has influence and the potential to use these supply chains as leverage against the United States.
References
Art, R. J. (2017). The fungibility of force. In R. J. Art & R. Jervis (Eds.), International politics: Enduring concepts and contemporary issues (13th ed., pp. 195–203). Pearson.
Baskaran, G. (2025, October 9). China's new rare earth and magnet restrictions threaten U.S. defense supply chains. Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://www.csis.org/analysis/chinas-new-rare-earth-and-magnet-restrictions-threaten-us-defense-supply-chains
Baskaran, G., & Schwartz, M. (2025, April 14). The consequences of China's new rare earths export restrictions. Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://www.csis.org/analysis/consequences-chinas-new-rare-earths-export-restrictions
Cook, C. R. (2024). Understanding the contributions of the new national defense industrial strategy. Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://www.csis.org/analysis/understanding-contributions-new-national-defense-industrial-strategy
Federal Register. (2021, March 1). America's supply chains (86 FR 11849). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/03/01/2021-04280/americas-supply-chains
Feickert, A. (2026, March 18). The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system (IF12645). Congressional Research Service. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12645
Gilpin, R. (2001). Global political economy: Understanding the international economic order. Princeton University Press.
International Energy Agency. (2025, October 23). With new export controls on critical minerals, supply concentration risks become reality. https://www.iea.org/commentaries/with-new-export-controls-on-critical-minerals-supply-concentration-risks-become-reality
Kalantzakos, S. (2020). The race for critical minerals in an era of geopolitical realignments. The International Spectator, 55(3), 1–16.
Keohane, R. O., & Nye, J. S. (2011). Power and interdependence (4th ed.). Pearson.
Lopez, C. T. (2024, March 11). DOD looks to establish “mine-to-magnet” supply chain for rare earth materials. U.S. Department of Defense. https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3700059/dod-looks-to-establish-mine-to-magnet-supply-chain-for-rare-earth-materials/
Mearsheimer, J. J. (2001). The tragedy of great power politics. W. W. Norton & Company.
Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China. (2023, July 6). MOFCOM regular press conference. https://english.mofcom.gov.cn/News/PressConference/art/2023/art_36fb2 d80e4b445 3891bb8fc83e2b3c4e.html
Missile Defense Project. (2021a, June 23). Air and missile defense radar (AMDR)/AN-SPY-6. Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://missilethreat.csis.org/defsys/amdr-an-spy-6/
Missile Defense Project. (2021b, June 23). AN/SPY-1 radar. Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://missilethreat.csis.org/defsys/an-spy-1-radar/
Missile Defense Project. (2021c, June 30). AN/TPY-2 radar. Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://missilethreat.csis.org/defsys/tpy-2/
Park, A. J. (2026, March 10). S. Korea regrets transfer of USFK air defense assets to Middle East, Lee says. The Korea Times. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/defense/20260310/s-korea-regrets-transfer-of-usfk-air-defense-assets-to-middle-east-lee-says
Powers-Riggs, A., Hart, B., & Funaiole, M. P. (2023, August 3). De-risking gallium supply chains: The national security case for eroding China's critical mineral dominance. Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://www.csis.org/analysis/de-risking-gallium-supply-chains-national-security-case-eroding-chinas-critical-mineral
Powers-Riggs, A., Hart, B., Funaiole, M. P., Thomsett, S., Zieleniewski, S., & Rose, T. (2025, July 17). Beyond rare earths: China's growing threat to gallium supply chains. Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://www.csis.org/analysis/beyond-rare-earths-chinas-growing-threat-gallium-supply-chains
RTX. (2025, May 19). RTX's Raytheon delivers 13th AN/TPY-2 radar for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. https://www.rtx.com/news/news-center/2025/05/19/rtxs-raytheon-delivers-13th-an-tpy-2-radar-for-the-u-s-missile-defense-agency
State Council of the People's Republic of China. (2024, October 19). Regulations of the People's Republic of China on export control of dual-use items [In Chinese]. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/202410/content_6981399.htm
The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China. (2020, October 17). Export control law of the People's Republic of China. http://www.npc.gov.cn/englishnpc/c2759/c23934/202112/t20211209_384804.html
The White House. (2022, February). Indo-Pacific strategy of the United States. https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/U.S.-Indo-Pacific-Strategy.pdf
U.S. Geological Survey. (2025, March 14). Minerals with net import reliance on China. https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/minerals-net-import-reliance-china
U.S. Department of Defense. (2023a, September 19). Department of Defense enters an agreement to expand domestic manufacturing to strengthen U.S. supply chains for rare earth magnets. https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3529874/ department-of-defense-enters-an-agreement-to-expand-domestic-manufacturing-to-s/
U.S. Department of Defense. (2023, February 28). President Biden signs presidential waiver of statutory requirements for supply chain resilience. https://www.war.gov/News/ Releases/Release/Article/3312486/president-biden-signs-presidential-waiver-of-statutory-requirements-for-supply/
U.S. Department of Defense. (2022, February). Securing defense-critical supply chains. https://media.defense.gov/2022/Feb/24/2002944158/-1/-1/1/DOD-EO-14017-REPORT-SECURING-DEFENSE-CRITICAL-SUPPLY-CHAINS.PDF
U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2010, April 14). Rare earth materials in the defense supply chain (GAO-10-617R). https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-10-617r
U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2024, September 10). Critical materials: Action needed to implement requirements that reduce supply chain risks (GAO-24-107176). https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-107176
Vivoda, V., Matthews, R., & Andresen, J. (2025). Securing defense critical minerals: Challenges and U.S. strategic responses in an evolving geopolitical landscape. Comparative Strategy, 44(2), 281–315.
Waltz, K. N. (1979). Theory of international politics. Addison-Wesley.
Zhang, H. (2025). Resilience of critical transition minerals supply chain in the context of strategic rivalry: Implications for national policy and regulatory frameworks. Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law, 44(1), 67–93.
