The Department of Defense is accepting comments no later than April 28 on risks in the supply chain for strategic and critical materials and ways to address these risks. The DoD is required to submit a report on these matters to the president by mid-June.
The DoD is seeking input on the following topics from (1) consumers and producers of strategic and critical materials and downstream products containing these materials and (2) those with relevant expertise.
- increasing transparency in strategic and critical material supply chains
- diversifying sources of supply for strategic and critical materials, including domestic sources and foreign allies/partners
- diversifying production sources, such as primary extraction, co-production, and reclamation from mine, industrial, and end-of-life products
- promoting environmental, health and safety, labor, fair trade, and a level playing field in global markets
- establishing and strengthening manufacturing of value-added products containing strategic and critical materials that support the U.S. economy
- methods to reduce exposure to price volatility and supply shocks in strategic and critical material supply chains
- availability of material and manufacturing process substitutes for at-risk strategic and critical materials
- availability of skilled labor and other personnel to sustain a competitive strategic and critical materials ecosystem
- availability of manufacturing capabilities, such as single points of failure in supply chains or nonexistent, threatened, or single-point-of-failure capabilities, or single or dual suppliers
- spectrum of risk to supply disruption, taking into account the duration (i.e., short, medium, long), geographic scope (local, regional, global), intensity (magnitude of aggregate supply disruption), ability to meet projected demand at a specific supply chain node, and probability of the disruption event
- spectrum of risk to the development and maintenance of sustainable supply chains, such as violations of human rights and forced labor
- research, development, and demonstration priorities to support production or an advanced manufacturing base for strategic and critical materials
- policy recommendations or suggested executive, legislative, or regulatory action to foster more resilient supply chains for strategic and critical materials while promoting stewardship of affected communities and the environment
- recommendations for long-term research, development, and demonstration investments necessary for reimagining a more sustainable and secure U.S. critical materials supply chain of the future
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