The U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party recently adopted 150 policy recommendations to help curb China’s military growth and human rights abuses. The bipartisan team that wrote the report warned that the United States is “dangerously dependent” on the Chinese Communist Party for critical minerals or raw materials vital to making energy and digital technologies.

For everyone living in Northern Utah, that should send shivers down our spines. The aerospace industry, which is a cornerstone of our economy thanks to Hill Air Force Base, depends on America’s No. 1 rival, China, for the materials it needs to thrive. That is problematic for our national security and for our economic well-being.

Even if you aren’t a member of the military or don’t work at the base, you likely work for a company that relies on defense contracts, like Northrop Gruman, L3Harris Technologies or Moog. In my hometown of Pleasant View, my Boy Scout leaders would drive to Promontory every morning to work at ATK Launch Systems, a local rocket manufacturer.

But even if you work for none of these companies, business is better for you because they exist. The Kem C. Gardner Institute reported that, in 2019, the industry contributed 10.6% to our state’s GDP. Defense contracts directly or indirectly provided 1 in 10 of all jobs in Utah, and the paychecks these 211,285 jobs provided comprised 9.5% of all personal income earned by Utahns that year. We all benefit from that; for example, if you own a restaurant or convenience store in Box Elder County, it’s likely that my Scout leaders and their co-workers spent a good chunk of their personal income that year at your place of business.

It’s easy to see why our local economy is at risk from our nation’s dependence on China. Minerals like arsenic metal, gallium and germanium are vital to produce semiconductor chips, radars, sensors, fiber optic systems, infrared optics and secure communications — all important components in aerospace and defense technologies. Because China dominates the supply chains for these metals, Communist Party leaders control the prices and availability of these critical minerals. In just the last six months, the CCP has limited the exports of gallium, germanium and graphite.

On top of the economic risk to Utah, China’s control of critical minerals is a serious threat to U.S. national security. Despite having many resources right here in our own backyard, the U.S. imports a frightening percentage of the minerals needed to build jet engines, drone batteries and strong alloys for our defense aircrafts. In some cases, China controls nearly 100% of exports. Were tensions with the People’s Republic to escalate into conflict, our military would lose the source of minerals it needs to keep Americans safe.

Now is the time to act. Congress has already filled an important role by documenting and analyzing the threats in this report. Here in Utah, Rep. Blake Moore has teamed up with Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado to block the Biden administration from limiting the mining of critical minerals in the U.S. This is a good move, but there is more to do. As former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer testified to Congress, the CCP has worked hard to create international systems that favor their military and economic growth, and the U.S. must now work even harder to establish a new paradigm that favors the West.

One thing Congress can do this year to work toward that goal is to take environmental performance into account in international trade. American mining is much cleaner, with China’s state-owned mining operations emitting at least twice as much carbon pollution as American ones. But our miners get no benefit for that clean production because trade fails to account for the very low environmental standards of Chinese firms.

Even just shedding light on the environmental harms of the CCP’s industries, as Rep. John Curtis is working to do, could help boost support for domestic mining and encourage companies to buy materials mined in the U.S. This could, in turn, promote American industries and begin to build the infrastructure we need to free our supply chains from the CCP’s total control.

Ideally, the government would do as Sen. Mitt Romney suggests: craft a comprehensive strategy to deal with the threat of the CCP, including in relation to military supply chains. Since that is not happening, we need to take what short-term wins we can. As our elected officials work to hold China accountable, promote American innovation and protect supply chains, they will ensure that Northern Utah will remain prosperous and safe for generations to come.

Andrew Sandstrom is the Weber County chair for Utah Young Republicans and the regional director for Young Conservatives for Carbon Dividends, a group focused on climate and energy policy.

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