Recently, I joined Reps. Mike Rogers, Dale Strong, and Gary Palmer to address many of Alabama’s business leaders about what we are working on in Washington to help Alabama and this nation succeed.

One of the biggest concerns we all share is countering the economic threat China poses to the United States.

The Chinese Communist Party has a goal of making Americans depend on them for critical minerals, medical supplies, agricultural goods, and so much more. Just look at what has happened in Europe to countries that are dependent on each other for basic materials and  goods. We cannot allow that to happen here, and I can promise you my colleagues and I are doing all we can to fight back.

Right now, China controls 90% of critical minerals and about 95% of the processing of these minerals.

This is a huge problem. The solution here is simple: we need to open more of our mines in America and start utilizing the abundant natural resources we have. We have all these resources right here in America, but the Biden administration is shutting production down  left and right! Whether it’s the Duluth Complex, which is a world-class mineral deposit in Northern Minnesota containing nearly 8 billion tons of copper, nickel, cobalt, and platinum group metals, or the Coosa Graphite Project right here in Alabama, we have so much potential.

America should be a net exporter of raw materials, minerals, food, and much more instead of relying on other countries, especially China, to take care of us. I’ve been working on this since my first day in Congress, and I won’t stop until we get big government out of the way and create opportunity for American companies to invest in America and unleash our resources.

Unfortunately, it’s not just mineral resources being controlled by China. We’re also watching them buy up our farmland and our meatpacking facilities too. I wrote about foreign investment in American farmland almost a year ago because it poses a huge risk to national security. We’ve been working on this issue for many months because we cannot allow China – or any adversary – to have massive control over American food production and supply chains.

The United States has the capabilities, the workforce, and the resources to dominate global supply chains, so why would we let China dominate? We should be investing in America instead of depending on China or any foreign country for anything. Food security and mineral security is national security, and we must do all we can to protect it.

The last thing we should be doing is helping China. Instead, let’s invest in America and become the world leader we used to be.

Jerry Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. He lives in Mobile with his wife Tina.