U.S. Army expects defense supply-chain disruptions as January critical-minerals restrictions take effect

The U.S. Army expects some disruption to the defense supply chain when new restrictions on critical minerals from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea take effect in January 2027.

Liz Miranda, executive deputy to the commanding general of Army Materiel Command, said defense companies are still working to map their supply chains down to the raw-material level and are not yet fully prepared for the new requirements.

“We are going to see some impact come January,” Miranda said, adding that she did not expect an “off the cliff” or catastrophic outcome for the Army.

The restrictions require U.S. defense contractors to stop using covered critical materials and minerals sourced from the four countries unless they receive a government waiver backed by a mitigation plan showing how they will shift to U.S. or allied suppliers.

The affected materials include substances such as tungsten alloys used in engines and hypersonic systems, as well as germanium used in thermal-imaging technology.

The U.S. has been trying to reduce its dependence on foreign critical-mineral supply chains, particularly China, which dominates processing of many rare earths and other materials used across the defense industry.