Speaking at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on allies to work together to secure supplies of rare earths and other minerals. He urged European countries to join the US in building a Western supply chain for critical minerals that would not be vulnerable to market manipulation.

Away from Munich, Mexico and Canada announced that they are working on a joint action plan on minerals, infrastructure and supply chains in the second half of the year. The announcement came after a meeting between Mexico's Economy Minister and Canada's Minister of Trade in Mexico City yesterday.

And for the first time in more than 50 years, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Friday approved licenses for new nuclear fuel facilities. The Tennessee based facilities plan to use "TRISO" fuel, which is known as the "most robust nuclear fuel on Earth." The challenge will be securing the pure form of uranium the fuel requires which is currently produced at-scale in only Russia and China. There are a number of startups working towards production in the U.S. but it is another example of the need to secure our domestic supply chains and wean the US off of foreign suppliers.