22 May 2025

The Honorable Mike Crapo

Chairman, Senate Finance Committee

United States Senate

Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Chairman Crapo and Members of the United States Senate,

We, the undersigned industry representatives, national security professionals, and critical mineral investors, on behalf of the U.S. critical mineral processing and refining industries, urge the Senate to preserve the Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit as it stands today. Fast tracking the sunset of 45X and removing the exemption for critical mineral projects—as seen in the House version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act—undercuts the President’s prioritization of domestic critical mineral processing as expressed in Executive Order 14241, Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production[1]. We respectfully request that you maintain the 45X tax credit’s application to critical minerals as a matter vital to U.S. national security.

The U.S. lacks commercial-scale critical mineral processing and refining capacity, leaving American defense and industrial sectors heavily dependent on foreign suppliers. Critical minerals underpin key industries that enable the U.S. to defend itself, drive innovation, and remain resilient in the face of geopolitical conflict or coercion. Without a secure, domestic critical mineral supply, the defense industrial base faces operational delays, price volatility, and strategic vulnerabilities that threaten U.S. national and economic security, as the EO further explains. Therefore, leaving the 45X’s critical mineral sunset exemption as is serves as a national security imperative. We urge the Unites States Senate to not change the current tax law supporting US critical mineral producers -- as seen in the House version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The United States is nearly two decades behind China in critical mineral processing and refining capabilities. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) maintains its advantages through a web of interlocking subsidies, predatorial trade practices, and adversarial market manipulation. 45X allows U.S. companies to at least partially offset these foreign market distortions, thereby improving business cases for domestic investment. However, U.S. manufacturers will likely not take the risk of significant capital expenditure on a credit that will expire in just a few years into initial production: projects in the planning process will barely have come online before the House-imposed 2031 sunset cuts access to the credit. Therefore, the Senate should maintain the credit as originally passed into law as critical for driving long-term private investment, accelerating domestic production, and reducing reliance on foreign adversaries—particularly the CCP.

Leveling the Playing Field: Confronting China's State Subsidization

45X is a direct counterweight to the CCP's market-distorting subsidies and price manipulation tactics used to undercut foreign producers and drive them out of business. Chinese nickel producers, to use one example, operate at a loss but, due to CCP support, are still dumping underpriced products into the global market. China-driven oversupply, by way of Indonesian production has driven down global nickel prices from over $31,275[2] metric ton in 2022 to roughly $15,500 in 2025. Australia has already seen a decline in nickel production, and development projects in the U.S. are struggling to find capital in light of these market changes. Similar dynamics can be seen at work in other critical minerals industries, such as rare earths, tungsten, cobalt, aluminum, and graphite, as investment in a critical minerals project is often tied to the price of that material during the fundraising period. “Currently, low prices are hindering the financing of many projects, with investors more concerned about short-term bearishness than longer-term fundamentals” [3].

Critical mineral projects are also capital intensive and highly technical. Long commercialization timelines, combined with market uncertainties, mean that they are challenging to finance. China has overcome these challenges by using state-backed money to establish control over supply. U.S. private investors are wary of competing with state-backed enterprises[4]. Maintaining the 45X tax credit’s critical mineral production sunset exemption would help close this gap and signal a serious, long-term U.S. industrial policy—one capable of countering China's dominance and securing the materials essential to America's national and economic security.

In addition to protecting national security and economic interests, 45X drives job creation and revitalizes manufacturing in regions that have been left behind by de-industrialization. This aligns with the administration’s broader goals of revitalizing U.S. industrial competitiveness and providing economic opportunities, particularly in regions across America that have been impacted by the offshoring of manufacturing jobs. According to analysis from the National Mining Association, full implementation of 45X supports thousands of high-wage jobs in mining and refining— jobs that cannot be offshored and that will contribute to America’s long-term economic resilience[5].

Repealing 45X critical mineral sunset exemption risks:

• Weakening U.S. national security
  • Without the 45X credit for critical mineral projects, fewer domestic processing and refining projects will move forward, increasing reliance on foreign—often adversarial—suppliers like China.
• Ceding ground to China
  • Without an incentive to support critical mineral production the U.S. risks falling even further behind, solidifying China's geopolitical leverage over essential supply chains.
• Deterring private investment
  • The repeal of 45X critical mineral sunset exemption sends mixed demand signals that heightens investor uncertainty, thus widening the financing gap and discouraging institutional capital—further delaying domestic development.
• Damaging American economic competitiveness
  • Without 45X for critical mineral projects, U.S. companies will struggle to compete with foreign firms that benefit from cheaper material costs, state support, and longer-term policy certainty. This puts American jobs, innovation, and manufacturing capacity at risk—especially in regions targeted for industrial revitalization.

The amendment language herein amends the House bill to preserve the Section 45X sunset exemption for domestic critical mineral production. We urge the Senate to defend the 45X sunset exemption for critical mineral projects, while continuing to address necessary reforms. We are available to answer any follow-up questions or contribute analysis and continue efforts towards the actualization of domestic midstream processing and refining.

Sincerely,

KaLeigh Long,

Founder/CEO

Westwin Elements, Inc.

Dennis Muilenburg

Chairman & CEO, New Vista Capital

Former Chairman, President & CEO, The Boeing Company

Member of Board, Westwin Elements, Inc.

Tracy W. King

Major General, USMC (Ret)

Former Commanding General of United States Marine Forces, Europe and Africa

Member of Advisory Board, Westwin Elements, Inc.

Kwame Boateng

Colonel, US Army (Ret)

Former Director of Defense Logistics Agency Mission Assurance

Member of Advisory Board, Westwin Elements, Inc.

Chris Sharpsten

Major General, US Army (Ret)

Executive Vice President of Defense Programs, JA Green and Company

Amendment offered to section 112014 of the “COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, ‘‘THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’’

Current Amendment Language

SEC. 112014. PHASE-OUT AND RESTRICTIONS ON ADVANCED MANUFACTURING PRODUCTION CREDIT.

(a) PHASE-OUT.—Section 45X(b)(3) is amended— (1) in subparagraph (B)— (A) in clause (ii), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end, (B) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘during calendar year 2032, 25 percent,’’ and inserting ‘‘after December 31, 2031, 0 percent.’’, and (C) by striking clause (iv), and (2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the following: ‘‘(C) TERMINATION FOR WIND ENERGY COMPONENTS.—This section shall not apply to wind energy components sold after December 31, 2027’’.

Industry Recommended Amendment Language

SEC. 112014. PHASE-OUT AND RESTRICTIONS ON ADVANCED MANUFACTURING PRODUCTION CREDIT.

(a) PHASE-OUT. — Section 45X(b)(3) is amended— (1) in subparagraph (B)— (A) in clause (ii), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end, (B) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘during calendar year 2032, 25 percent,’’ and inserting ‘‘after December 31, 2031, 0 percent.’’, and (2) by inserting the following new subparagraph: “(D) TERMINATION FOR WIND ENERGY COMPONENTS.—This section shall not apply to wind energy components sold after December 31, 2027.”

[1] President Donald J. Trump, (20 March 2025). Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/immediate-measures-to-increase-american-mineral-production/.

[2] Isabeau van Halm, (13 January 2023). The Nickel Price Rollercoaster of 2022. https://www.mining-technology.com/features/nickel-price-surge-2022-markets/?cf-view.

[3] Brian Menell, (24 April 2025). How the U.S. can counter China’s dominance of critical mineral supply chains, Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/2025-04/Brian_Menell_Testimony.pdf.

[4] Brian Menell, (24 April 2025). How the U.S. can counter China’s dominance of critical mineral supply chains. Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/2025-04/Brian_Menell_Testimony.pdf.

[5] Rich Nolan (22 February 2024), Testimony before the IRS and Department of the Treasury, Public Hearing on Proposed Regulations - Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit. https://nma.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Testimony-of-Rich-Nolan_Treasury-IRS-45X-Hearing_Feb.-22-2024_FINAL.pdf.