The CCP controls the most intimate elements of our life. Most Americans have no idea

Critical minerals quietly power every aspect of modern American life. As you pour your morning coffee, you are relying on copper wiring and silicon chips working behind the scenes inside your coffee maker. When you grab milk from the refrigerator, you are depending on metal components, copper wiring, and electronic controls to keep everything cold. Turn on the TV to another round of bickering politicians on cable news, and you are looking at a screen built with indium, lithium, and rare earth phosphors. 

Flip off the lights, hop in your car, connect your phone to Bluetooth, and turn on your favorite podcast for the drive to work. That everyday routine depends on copper, lithium, and a whole host of other critical minerals that power batteries, speakers, navigation systems, , and modern communications technology. 

These materials are so deeply embedded into our daily lives that most Americans would never think twice about them. But they should. 

Beijing certainly has. The Chinese Communist Party has spent decades and hundreds of billions of dollars cornering the market on critical minerals, from mining to processing and refining. Today, controls roughly 70 percent of global rare earth mining and nearly 90 percent of rare earth refining capacity, dominating the supply chains that underpin Americas economic and national security. 

This is not just about what goes into your coffee maker or your . Critical minerals are essential to Americas military strength, powering everything from advanced fighter jets and missile systems to radar, satellites, and communications technology. China knows this and has demonstrated time and time again its willingness to weaponize global supply chains for geopolitical leverage. 

Last year, Beijing imposed sweeping export controls on markets and sending shockwaves through defense and manufacturing supply chains. The consequences hit Americans directly. Supply disruptions drive up costs, slow manufacturing, threaten jobs, and make everything from cars to consumer electronics more expensive and harder to produce. 

My home state of s aerospace industry offers a clear example of what is at stake. The sector supports more than 350,000 jobs and generates tens of billions of dollars in annual economic output. It is also central to Americas defense industrial base, producing advanced aircraft, satellites, and missile systems. Without reliable access to critical minerals, thousands of jobs and billions in economic activity are at risk.

President Trump and his administration understand the urgency of this challenge and are moving quickly to dominance. Recent efforts to strengthen domestic mining and support companies like MP Materials and Lithium Americas are important steps in the right direction.  

But America cannot solve this problem alone. Even with increased domestic production, global demand for critical minerals is projected to skyrocket in the coming decades. Some estimates show the world will consume as much copper over the next 25 years as humanity has in all of recorded . 

This is why we must work alongside our most trusted allies and friends to build strong, resilient supply chains away from China.

This week, my Developing Overseas Mineral Investments and New Allied Networks for Critical Energies (DOMINANCE) Act passed out of the . The DOMINANCE Act helps lock in President Trumps critical minerals strategy and creates a coordinated approach to secure the supply chains that power our economy and national defense. This legislation strengthens Americas ability to work with allies, reduces dependence on China, and ensures the free world — not the Chi