Initially, the Latin American republics seem likely beneficiaries of the new national security logic that has come to underpin US supply chains: critical minerals should be imported from trusted allies, rather than depending on potential enemies. However, this logic has a natural, further step: if procuring key minerals from Latin America is “safer” than from China, wouldn’t sourcing them domestically be the safest option?

This was the thinking of the Joe Biden administration (2021-2024), which sought to secure the supply of critical minerals by promoting domestic production. The wide-ranging Inflation Reduction Act penciled in billions of dollars in loans towards domestic mining and processing projects that would bolster self-sufficiency in key metals like lithium. Through such plans, the administration sought to kill two birds with one stone by boosting domestic manufacturing and garnering support from environmentalists by promoting a transition to cleaner energies.

In practice, matters became more complicated — especially for lithium production. While lithium batteries are the key to reducing reliance on fossil fuel engines, the mining process for lithium raises environmental concerns. Lithium is extracted from brine pumped from underground aquifers, potentially draining water from areas in which it is extremely scarce. Since lithium is often found near rare plants and endangered animal habitats, environmental groups and communities have pushed back against many proposed projects.

A paradigmatic case is the Rhyolite Ridge mine in Nevada. The project, owned by an Australian company, promises to quadruple US lithium output. Its location, however, threatened to endanger a rare desert flower. Environmental litigation ensued for over six years before the project received approval.

Despite financial support from the federal government, lithium miners have struggled to develop assets in the US. This is largely due to regulatory red tape, and a slump in lithium prices since 2023 has not helped. Rhyolite Ridge, the only mine approved during Biden’s tenure, came in the nick of time: it received the green light just a week before the 2024 presidential election. In all, US lithium mines need almost a decade to go from discovery to production, while similar mines in Australia often complete this process in under five. Despite being identified as a national security concern, lithium mining in the US has advanced slowly.