Submission for the Record of
Bryan Riley, Director, Free Trade Initiative
National Taxpayers Union
Prepared for Committee on Ways and Means
United States House of Representatives
Regarding the Committee’s Hearing on “Strategic Partnerships to Secure Critical Resources and Supply Chains”
Hearing Date: September 2, 2026
Submission Date: September 1, 2026
I appreciate the opportunity to submit these comments on behalf of National Taxpayers Union (NTU), a non-partisan citizen group founded in 1969 to work for less burdensome taxes, more efficient, accountable government, and stronger rights for all taxpayers. More about our work as a non-profit grassroots organization is available at www.ntu.org.
I offer the following suggestions to help assure a supply of critical resources for the United States.
1. Build on the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which strengthens U.S. trade ties with Africa. As Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) stated, “Our nation’s economic, strategic, and national security interests are front and center in AGOA. Think about it: This program strengthens our critical supply chains and helps us counter the harmful global influence of nations like China and Russia.” AGOA and related measures are especially important given China’s subsequent decision to eliminate nearly all tariffs on imports from Africa.
2. Direct the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to challenge China’s restrictions on critical resource exports at the World Trade Organization (WTO). In 2012, the United States, joined by the European Union and Japan, challenged China’s export restraints. The WTO upheld the U.S. complaint, and China dropped its noncompliant export restrictions.1 China later retaliated against U.S. tariffs in 2025 by reinstating export restrictions. Those restrictions violate WTO rules. Congress should direct USTR to challenge them.
3. Follow longstanding U.S. policy with respect to critical minerals. In 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower wrote: “The prudent use and development of domestic mineral resources, as well as assured access to necessary sources abroad, are indispensable to the operation of an active economy and a sound defense.”2 Eisenhower stressed the security benefits of goods supplied by our allies. Significantly, he also acknowledged the importance of trade in strengthening our ties with other countries. His suggested approach—securing both domestic capacity and a reliable foreign supply—remains a useful model today.
4. Provide oversight regarding the impact of U.S. tariffs on critical resources. When steel and aluminum tariffs were imposed in 2018, Secretary of Defense James Mattis wrote that it was critical to reinforce to our trading partners that U.S. actions were directed toward China, not toward key U.S. allies.3 Today, many tariffs are directed toward key U.S. allies. These tariffs have not been approved by Congress. In the future, any changes in tariffs affecting U.S. access to critical materials should be subject to congressional approval.
5. Consider the conclusions of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) in “Building Resilience into the Nation's Medical Product Supply Chains.”4 The findings of this report, which was requested by Congress in the CARES Act, apply to more than just medical supply chains. It concluded that diversifying manufacturing locations can reduce prices, increase variety and quality, encourage innovation, and create redundancies that strengthen supply chains. The report considered the role of onshoring, and encouraged the consideration of alternative ways to promote supply chain resiliency. Such alternatives could include measures such as stockpiling supplies of critical goods and improving the permitting process for domestic mines.
6. Learn from recent supply-chain disruptions. When domestic production of infant formula was interrupted in 2022, Congress passed the Formula Act (H.R. 8351) by a vote of 421-2 in the House and by voice vote in the Senate. It also passed the Bulk Infant Formula to Retail Shelves Act (H.R. 8982) by voice vote in the House under suspension of the rules and by voice vote in the Senate. These bills paused tariffs on infant formula and ingredients. Following shortages of IV supplies after Hurricane Helene hit the factory responsible for 60% of the U.S. supply, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the importation of 18,000 tons of IV supplies.5 The lesson from these emergencies is that too much reliance on a single supplier, whether domestic or foreign, creates a supply chain risk. The availability of foreign supplies can actually strengthen supply chains and help Americans secure the critical goods we need.
NTU thanks the Committee for holding this important hearing regarding the ability of the United States to secure the critical resources we need to supply our economic and national defense needs, and appreciates your consideration of our suggestions.
1 Office of the United States Trade Representative, “USTR Froman: U.S. Victory in Challenge to China Rare Earth Export Restraints,” August 7, 2014, https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2014/August/USTR-Froman-US-Victory-in-Challenge-to-China-Rare-Earth-Export-Restraints.
2 Dwight D. Eisenhower, “Letter to Secretary of the Interior McKay Establishing Cabinet Committee on Minerals Policy,” The American Presidency Project, October 9, 1953, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/letter-secretary-the-interior-mckay-establishing-cabinet-committee-minerals-policy.
3 U.S. Department of Commerce, Department of Defense Memo: Response to Steel and Aluminum Policy Recommendations, accessed September 1, 2026, https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/department_of_defense_memo_response_to_steel_and_aluminum_policy_recommendations.pdf.
4 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Building Resilience into the Nation’s Medical Product Supply Chains (Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2022), https://doi.org/10.17226/26420.
5 Fraiser Kansteiner, “Baxter to import 18,000 tons of IV product by year-end as hurricane recovery efforts continue in NC,” Fierce Pharma, October 18, 2024.