The U.S. Department of Defense has canceled a tender to buy up to $300 million worth of lithium carbonate for the national strategic stockpile in another blow to the Administration looking to secure critical minerals for the defense and other strategic industries. DoD’s Defense Logistics Agency, which manages the end-to-end defense supply chain from raw materials to end-user disposition, canceled the solicitation in its entirety, effective August 3, 2026. Last year, the Defense Logistics Agency canceled a tender to buy cobalt in a contract that was expected to be worth about $500 million. The setbacks in the cobalt tender and now the lithium carbonate tender signal difficulties in the U.S. Administration procuring the critical minerals at fixed prices for supply over several years. China’s EV battery giant, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (CATL) was allowed in June to restart its Jianxiawo lithium mine, a development that sank lithium prices in China.