America’s Urgent Demand for Critical Materials and the Path Forward

America faces a pivotal moment regarding its need for critical materials. Executive Order 14415, signed on July 20, 2026, acknowledges the urgency by restricting supply chains from threats such as physical disruptions, cyber attacks, and economic coercion. Starting January 1, 2027, the Department of War will limit waivers for acquiring adversary-sourced materials. Defense and commercial aerospace contractors must trace components, software, and materials back to their raw sources.

This policy highlights the importance of national security and commercial stability, emphasizing the need for critical materials not only for military equipment but also for manufacturing and maintenance. America is revitalizing shipyards and commercial aerospace production, yet relies on materials from strategic rivals for powering artificial intelligence, submarines, and satellites.

America holds potential in the very materials it discards. At Senator Dave McCormick’s Defense and Innovation Summit, Jamie Dimon described the resurgence as reigniting the “arsenal of democracy.” JPMorgan announced a $24 million initiative to support maritime businesses and workforce development. The clear message: strong American military power is linked to robust economic power, crucial for global democracy.

For modern production, reliance on copper, rare earths, and other critical materials is unavoidable. Economic strength, technological competitiveness, and military security depend on controlling these material foundations. While artificial intelligence excels at tasks, the production of raw materials is beyond its scope. Software can be scaled swiftly, yet minerals require discovery and refinement.

Your home or office likely contains old electronics. These unused devices hold copper, aluminum, gold, silver, palladium, and rare earth elements vital to industries such as NVIDIA, SpaceX, and commercial aerospace. What once seemed like trash represents a national treasure.

The U.S. relies heavily on foreign supply chains for minerals powering AI, manufacturing, energy transitions, and national defense. China controls about 90% of global rare earth refining and leads refining for 19 out of 20 strategic minerals. When Beijing restricted exports in 2025, production across various sectors experienced immediate disruptions.

Rebuilding American mines is crucial, but mining alone cannot satisfy the soaring demand for critical minerals. Recovering materials from obsolete electronics offers a faster solution to boost domestic mining, enhance supply chains, and reduce dependence on rivals.

Urban mining, recovering critical materials from old electronics, presents opportunities for job creation, strengthening manufacturing, and minimizing reliance on adversaries. This approach is more than an environmental fix—it’s key to economic resilience and security. Without these materials, industrial and commercial ambitions remain unrealized.

ERI processes over a million pounds of electronic waste daily, yet many outdated electronics remain unrecycled. While technology enhances safe mineral recovery, progress is limited without proper collection. Data security concerns impede electronics recycling. Building trust in secure data destruction is essential alongside improving recovery techniques.

Globally, in 2022, about 62 million tonnes of e-waste were produced, but only 22% was responsibly recycled, representing a significant loss of valuable materials.

America needs strong policymakers to enforce what can be termed a “Green Fence.” This initiative would ensure obsolete electronics are not shipped overseas before material recovery. Exporting discarded devices means losing American resources, jobs, and economic strength.

With existing technology, materials from e-waste can be reintegrated into domestic supply chains. If the annual electronic waste in the U.S. were responsibly recycled, millions of pounds of critical materials could bolster manufacturing and security.

The materials exist, and so does the opportunity. America must resolve to retain these resources domestically.

John Shegerian is Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of ERI, a major IT asset disposition and electronics recycling company. Advocating for the circular economy and sustainable resource management, he has spent over two decades at the intersection of technology, environmental stewardship, and public policy.