The US House of Representatives launched a bipartisan caucus on Friday to focus on ways to increase domestic production of specialised minerals used to make missiles, cell phones and other high-tech equipment. The Critical Materials Caucus, is the latest effort by officials in Washington to blunt China’s prowess as the world’s largest producer or processor of rare earths, lithium, titanium and other niche but important minerals. China hiked its mining quota for rare earth minerals by 6.1% in 2020 to a record annual high . Representative Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Representative Guy Reschenthaler, a Pennsylvania Republican, will chair the group, which was approved by the House Administration Committee’s leadership. The Pentagon and a rising number of U.S. tech companies have grown concerned that China could cut off exports of the minerals to the US – which it did to Japan in 2010 – if relations between Beijing […]