Why It Matters

The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on July 15, focused on reducing U.S. dependency on China for critical supply chains. Three federal development finance officials testified that countering Chinese dominance requires coordinated action across multiple agencies rather than isolated efforts. The Trump administration backs this integrated approach, having recently expanded authorities for the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and signaled support for the agencies' joint strategy.

The hearing, titled "Ending Supply Chain Dependency: Aligning Tools, Capital, And Partnerships," convened with Chair Brian Mast (R-FL) and Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-NY) presiding over testimony from three senior development officials: Ben Black, CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC); Thomas Hardy, Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA); and Dan Petrie, acting chief of staff of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

China has spent decades building control over mines, processing capacity, ports, logistic networks, and technology platforms. The U.S. and its allies face strategic vulnerability across critical minerals, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and rare earths. The hearing examined how three separate agencies, the DFC, USTDA, and MCC, could coordinate their distinct tools to rebuild resilient supply chains anchored to democratic partners rather than Beijing.

The Big Picture

This hearing arrives amid a significant policy shift. In December 2025, President Trump signed the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act into law, which included a bipartisan DFC Modernization and Reauthorization Act that expanded the DFC's sectoral authorities to cover energy, critical minerals and rare earths, and information and communications technology, including undersea cables. The DFC now operates with 205 billion dollars of investment capacity and has rebuilt its pipeline to more than 340 deal opportunities totaling 78 billion dollars.

The hearing also reflects momentum around related legislation. Sen. Angus King (I-ME) introduced the Critical Minerals Security Act, which would direct the U.S. Department of the Interior to evaluate global supply and ownership of critical minerals, establish a process to assist U.S. companies divesting critical minerals operations in foreign countries, and develop methods for sharing intellectual property for clean mining and processing technologies with U.S. allies and partners.

What They're Saying

All three witnesses converged on a central thesis: reducing U.S. and allied supply chain dependency on China requires coordinated, whole-of-government development finance tools rather than any single agency acting alone. They outlined a sequenced pipeline model: early-stage project preparation through USTDA, policy and governance foundation through MCC, then capital financing through DFC.

Ben Black emphasized that the connective tissue supporting diverse supply chains is where DFC can be most consequential, specifically highlighting logistics co-financing. He recommended continued or expanded authorities for DFC equity investment, larger statutory lending caps, and closer coordination with USTDA and MCC.

Thomas Hardy advocated for sustained or increased appropriations for USTDA's Global Procurement Initiative and reverse trade missions, alongside deeper coordination with DFC and MCC so USTDA-originated projects flow into DFC financing and MCC compacts.

Dan Petrie recommended continued compact authority and funding for MCC, along with stronger linkages between MCC's governance and eligibility criteria and DFC/USTDA project pipelines so reforms translate into bankable projects.

The hearing roundup latest shows all three witnesses also agreed that U.S. standards and technologies should be embedded from the design phase onward in partner-country infrastructure.

Political Stakes

The political stakes center on whether these agencies remain separate or consolidate. The Trump administration has signaled interest in merging USTDA with DFC following the December 2025 DFC reauthorization. That prospect looms over this hearing, even as the three officials presented a unified front on coordination.

For Ben Black and DFC, the hearing provided a platform to showcase concrete wins. The DFC has reduced investment timelines by an average of 10 weeks. It provided a 553 million dollar loan to restore the Lobito Atlantic Railway, which connects the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo through Zambia to the port of Lobito in Angola. That financing will help reduce shipping costs by as much as 30%. The DFC has committed 1.5 billion dollars across Africa since Black's confirmation. In June, DFC's board approved 1.5 billion dollars for energy infrastructure across South and Southeast Asia. The DFC contributed 600 million dollars to a 1.8 billion dollar critical minerals consortium with Orion Resource Partners, and the board recently approved an additional 900 million dollars to support Orion CMC's mining and mineral opportunities.

For USTDA, the administration has been notably protective. USTDA was one of the only agencies involved in foreign aid that the Trump administration did not propose to cut or abolish. The agency is advancing projects along the Lobito corridor supporting critical minerals in Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is supporting the development of a 132-mile railway at Subic Bay in the Philippines as part of the Luzon Economic Corridor. USTDA is working with MCC to prepare strategic digital infrastructure projects for potential financing in Indonesia and Tonga. The U.S. partnered with its quad allies in Palau to replace a Chinese-built mobile network with a secure nationwide 4G 5G system built with trusted U.S. technologies, with USTDA funding the technical preparation.

For MCC, the hearing reinforced the agency's role as a governance-first counterweight to Chinese financing. Dan Petrie positioned MCC's model of transparent, results-driven development as a direct counterweight to Chinese infrastructure financing.

The Bottom Line

The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the Bipartisan Developing Overseas Mineral Investments and New Allied Networks for Critical Energies (DOMINANCE) Act unanimously through the committee and has been referred to the Senate.

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