The Smackover Lithium office in Lewisville, Ark., on Sept. 24, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times
Three Republican senators said the Pentagon should strengthen support for U.S. lithium suppliers, including those in their home states, warning that reliance on China for the critical mineral poses national security risks.
Arkansas Sens. Tom Cotton and John Boozman and Texas Sen. John Cornyn sent a letter to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Oct. 17 noting that current U.S. lithium production stands at about 1 percent of the world’s total supply, while China’s communist regime “overwhelmingly dominates” global production and processing.
