Reed Blakemore & Alexis Harmon
Critical minerals have officially entered the tariff spotlight. On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order launching an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to determine whether critical mineral imports impair U.S. national security. The Commerce Department investigation will help determine whether and to what extent the Trump administration will levy tariffs on imports of critical minerals as part of its sweeping global tariff efforts.
The United States is over 50 percent import-reliant on forty of fifty designated critical minerals. With China dominating many mineral supply chains from extraction to processing to finished products, U.S. policymakers have spent years trying and largely failing to effectively de-risk supply chains. U.S. critical mineral suppliers face a complex set of challenges: volatile and opaque price signals, Chinese market manipulation through subsidies and dumping that undercut other projects, and the inherently higher costs of U.S. projects due to stricter environmental and labor standards.
Now, the Commerce Department has 180 days to assess how imports create vulnerabilities in U.S. critical mineral supply chains, investigate foreign market distortion, and strategize how to boost domestic processing. Tariffs could be highly effective tools in addressing these challenges—but optimal results require a scalpel, not a chainsaw.
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