President Donald Trump rightly understands that rebuilding American manufacturing requires transformational change on multiple levels. His focus on U.S. energy dominance, which Alaska’s abundant natural resources can support, will keep costs low for businesses and families alike. But rebuilding American manufacturing also requires the United States to develop its own sources of raw materials—and Alaska can help on this front too.
Take graphite, the largest component of lithium-ion batteries by weight. Graphite has myriad applications—from batteries and nuclear reactors to advanced missiles and hypersonic systems—and has been designated as a critical mineral essential to our national security under the Defense Production Act.
Yet the United States has a 100 percent import reliance on this important mineral—and China controls the vast majority of global processing. It doesn’t take a national security expert to realize that, as with other critical minerals, allowing a foreign adversary to monopolize supplies of this important resource jeopardizes our economy and national security.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.