Three Republican senators sent a letter to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Friday, pressing the Department of War (DoW) to invest in domestic, high-grade American lithium to secure a critical national security resource and reduce reliance on Communist China.
Senators Tom Cotton (R-AK=R), John Boozman (R-AR), and John Cornyn (R-TX) commended the DoW’s focus on rare earth minerals but stressed that lithium—essential for advanced weapon systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, and battlefield energy storage—is also a foundational defense technology.
“A resilient domestic lithium supply will shield our military from supply chain disruptions, geopolitical manipulation, and other external threats,” the senators wrote, clarifying their stance: “This is not a corporate subsidy; it is a national security investment to detangle our supply chains from Communist China.”
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The United States currently produces only about one percent of the world’s lithium, while China dominates global production and processing, a position recently strengthened by new lithium export restrictions.
The senators pointed to the Smackover brine aquifer, spanning southwest Arkansas and east Texas, as the most promising domestic alternative. They noted that the region is the highest-grade lithium brine resource in North America, with Standard Lithium Ltd. (SLI) having the most advanced projects and proven direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology in the U.S.
To bolster this emerging domestic industry against competition from China, the senators encouraged Secretary Hegseth to employ tools like Title III of the Defense Production Act. They argued this action would signal to market participants that investing in domestic capacity is warranted, thereby significantly reducing U.S. dependence on China for the vital mineral.
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