[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 140 (Tuesday, July 22, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42560-42561]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-17192]


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OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY


Critical and Strategic Materials Supply Chains

ACTION: Notice of Request for Information.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. economy's requirements for raw materials have and 
will change over time, especially with the introduction of new products 
and processing technologies. Furthermore, as the global economy grows, 
there are increasing concerns regarding the availability and access to 
the raw materials that will be necessary to sustain U.S. economic 
growth and advance other national policies. As the criticality of 
materials shifts over time, studying the early warning signs and the 
underlying forces of potential material supply disruption can inform 
proactive policy development for emerging critical materials. One of 
the roles of the Critical and Strategic Minerals Supply Chain 
Subcommittee (CSMSC Subcommittee) of the National Science and 
Technology Council's Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and 
Sustainability is to develop a methodology for identifying critical 
materials and monitoring changes in criticality on an ongoing basis, 
providing ``early warning'' to policymakers and other stakeholders. The 
views of U.S. industry and other stakeholders are important to inform 
both an understanding of current conditions and the characterization of 
anticipated future demand for critical materials.

DATES: Responses must be received by August 31, 2014, to be considered.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include [Critical and 
Strategic Materials Supply Chains] in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (202) 456-6071, Attn: Cyrus Wadia.
     Mail: Attn: Cyrus Wadia, Office of Science and Technology 
Policy, Eisenhower Executive Office Building, 1650 Pennsylvania Ave. 
NW., Washington, DC 20504.
    Instructions: Electronic responses must be provided as attachments 
to an email. It is recommended that attachments with file sizes 
exceeding 25MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery. 
Please identify your answers by responding to a specific question or 
topic if possible. Respondents may answer as many or as few questions 
as they wish. Any information obtained as a result of this RFI is 
intended to be used by the Government on a non-attribution basis for 
planning and strategy development. OSTP will review the responses in 
its formulation of program strategies for the identified materials of 
interest that are the subject of this request.
    OSTP will not respond to individual submissions or publish publicly 
a compendium of responses, except as required by applicable law. A 
response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to 
develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed. OSTP will not pay for 
information provided under this RFI. This RFI is not accepting 
applications for financial assistance or financial incentives. OSTP has 
no obligation to respond to those who submit comments, and/or give any 
feedback on any decision made based on the responses received.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cyrus Wadia, (202) 456-4444, 
[email protected]. http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    PURPOSE: The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from 
industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and 
other stakeholders on issues related to demand, supply and supply chain 
structure, R&D, and technology transitions related to raw materials 
(including, but not limited to, minerals and gases) used in the U.S. 
economy. The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), which co-
chairs the NSTC's Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and 
Sustainability, is specifically interested in information on raw 
materials of interest to the public. Input on the current and future 
production of and demand for relevant materials, concerns related to 
raw material availability, and overall market dynamics are topics of 
additional relevance, as are the role of emerging technologies, trends 
in nationally important sectors and global shifts in product markets.

Request for Information Categories

Category 1: Demand

     What materials will be particularly important, and of 
concern (due to availability, price, etc.) to your technologies and/or 
your industry over the next 5 years?
     What is the growth in demand forecast for your 
technologies? What factors drive this assessment?
     At what point(s) in technology or product development or 
manufacturing do you select raw materials? How do you consider price? 
How do you

[[Page 42561]]

consider performance characteristics? How do you consider availability?
     What investments, if any, are you making to identify raw 
material input alternatives?
     Are there any emerging disruptive technologies or 
technology transitions (e.g., new applications or substitutes) that 
would dramatically change demand in the near term (5 years) or long 
term (15 years)?

Category 2: Exploration, Mining, and Smelting/Refining

     What barriers exist to exploration for additional 
resources of raw materials in the United States and globally?
     Once discovered, what barriers exist to the timely 
development of raw materials in the United States and globally?
     Is current North American separation, smelting, and/or 
refining capacity adequate to ensure reliable material supplies?
     What innovations in separation, smelting/refining 
technology or processes might affect U.S. or global resource supplies? 
What are the environmental impacts of these innovations?
     Are the mining, separation, smelting, and/or refining 
sites of the minerals required for your technologies adequately 
diversified to account for potential market failures or political 
risks?
     How do market size, market price, capital availability and 
other economic factors affect production decisions?

Category 3: Supply and Supply Chain

     What are the supply chains for the technologies identified 
as being important to your manufacturing processes and industry? How 
would you describe the significant stages of the supply chain?
     Are there vulnerabilities in the supply chain (domestic, 
foreign, sole source, import reliance, etc.) that lead to concerns 
regarding the supply of any of these materials and/or the ability to 
manufacture these technologies?
     How do you assess supply chain vulnerabilities and their 
impact?

Category 4: Market Dynamics

     How would you describe the market dynamics of your supply 
chains, including the overall supply of materials of interest?
     Are there any market distortions in the supply chain, such 
as opacity, lack of information, or trade-related distortions?
     Is there price volatility? If so, what factors drive this 
volatility?

Category 5: Mitigation

     What are some strategies you employ to mitigate supply 
chain concerns? (e.g., stockpiles, hedging, etc.)
     How do you cope with price volatility?
     Do you consider using technologies available with slightly 
reduced performance to avoid price and availability concerns?

Category 6: Other

     Is there additional information, not requested above, that 
you believe the CSMSC Subcommittee should consider in identifying 
emerging critical materials? If so, please provide here.

Ted Wackler,
Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-17192 Filed 7-21-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3270-F4-P