Chairs Rodgers, Duncan, and Johnson Seek Answers from Secretary Granholm Over Critical Materials from China

Letter

"According to reports, on August 1, 2023, China began cutting off all access to gallium and germanium, a key mineral used for military and energy technologies. On October 20, 2023, China announced that it would limit the export of raw and synthetic graphite, which is essential to manufacture electric motors and batteries. These adversarial actions by China pose a direct threat to our national security and to our energy security.

China controls over eighty percent of the world's gallium. Gallium is vital in our production of semiconductor chips, next-generation missile defense, and radar systems. The use of gallium in the United States has increased and is expected to continue to increase due to its use in light-emitting diodes, which are used in many technologies. Similar to gallium, germanium is vital to the development of radiation detectors, fiber optic cables, and infrared sensors. Both gallium and germanium are listed as critical, of high importance, and at risk of supply disruption.

China controls over sixty percent of the world's graphite and accounts for over thirty percent of graphite imports for the United States. Graphite is the largest component of the lithium-ion battery and is essential in electric vehicle (EV) battery anodes."

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