The United States needs to fortify its supply chain of niobium, a key metal in the production of hypersonic missiles, as China aims for technological and military preeminence, according to experts from Washington-based think tanks the Atlantic Council and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
In a commentary article published on March 4, Guido L. Torres, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, and three CSIS researchers wrote that Brazil is one of the largest niobium producers, making it important for the United States and its like-minded allies that the South American country choose to join the U.S.-led Minerals Security Partnership over overtures from China.
