Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) on Monday led a bipartisan group of lawmakers in calling on the Biden administration to establish a “rare-earth metallurgical cooperative” to reduce the nation’s reliance on Beijing for the specialized minerals that are used to build electronics, military weapons, and other high-tech equipment. In a letter (pdf) addressed to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the pair, alongside 12 other lawmakers, urged the Biden administration to establish the cooperative to end the nation’s dependence on China for “this critical supply chain.” China is currently the top global producer of rare earth elements. Last year, 80 percent of rare earths imported by the United States came directly from China, which sees its dominance as leverage that can be used against the West. Rare earths are an obscure group of 17 minerals, and there are no known substitutes for them. They are often found in …