House Companion Bill Introduced to Require Section 301 Investigation on Chinese Rare Earths Practices
A new bill directs the administration to open a Section 301 investigation "to determine whether acts, policies, and practices of the Government of the People's Republic of China related to technology transfer, intellectual property, or innovation with respect to rare earth metal mining, separation, metallization, alloying, or magnet manufacturing, or related processes, are acts, policies, and practices" are damaging enough to the U.S. economy that they necessitate "trade enforcement actions to deter the Government of the People's Republic of China from further interference in the rare earth metals market."
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The Restoring Essential Energy and Security Holdings Onshore for Rare Earths (REESHORE Act) was first introduced by Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., announced June 14 that they introduced a House companion bill.
“Rare-earth elements are critical to America’s military, our technology sector, and our infrastructure needs. From electric cars to smartphones, we must move away from our reliance on dictators and communists in countries like China and Russia to protect our national security. At any time, China could cut off their supply of these materials to the U.S., as they’ve already threatened to in the past,” Gottheimer said in the press release. “This new bipartisan legislation is an opportunity to stick it to China, work with our allies, and move toward American REE independence -- all while boosting our strategic competition and eliminating our reliance on adversaries."