Post by Baker Institute Center for Energy Studies (CES)

📄 New Working Paper | Ashley Zumwalt-Forbes | Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy Center for Energy Studies The West is trying to finance a critical minerals supply chain it cannot price until it can reliably separate a supply controlled by a foreign entity of concern (FEOC) from everything else. That classification step is the focus of this new working paper from CES Nonresident Fellow Ashley Zumwalt-Forbes. The paper proposes a practical path forward: → Build and test the machinery on tantalum first — a small, strategically important market with existing conflict-minerals traceability infrastructure already in place → Define a control-based qualified-producer list, not just a negative blacklist → Fund beneficial-ownership tracing as critical infrastructure, not a compliance cost → House the system at the allied level — inside FORGE or the new G7 Critical Minerals Alliance — so no single government can revoke it alone The timing matters: the G7's June 2026 declaration created the venue this paper calls for — but not yet the foundation. Read the full paper 👇 🔗 https://lnkd.in/enjcSNGe #CriticalMinerals #SupplyChainSecurity #EnergyPolicy #FEOC #CriticalMineralsCapital #BakerInstitute #RiceUniversity Rice University