President Trump Launches Investigation That May Lead To Tariffs On Critical Minerals
As the Chinese government halted its export of rare earth minerals and magnets, President Donald Trump has taken the first step in a process that could lead to additional trade penalties on critical minerals imports into the United States. Specifically, on April 15, he issued an executive order (EO) directing the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to investigate potential national security risks from imports of critical minerals, rare earth elements, uranium, and downstream manufactured products.
The investigation will assess vulnerabilities in supply chains, the economic impact of foreign market distortions, and potential trade remedies to ensure a secure and sustainable domestic supply of these materials. The DOC’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) will conduct the investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which, as Connecting the Dots reader are well aware, is a law that empowers the president to restrict imports of products that are found to threaten to impair U.S. national security.
The BIS will likely provide an opportunity for public comments in a forthcoming notice but, notably, the EO sets out a compressed timeline for the investigation, instructing BIS to complete its final report and issue its policy recommendations within 180 days of the investigation’s initiation, or at some point in October 2025.
Stay tuned to Connecting the Dots for information on the public comment process.
According to a White House press release, if the U.S. secretary of Commerce submits a report finding that imports of critical mineral articles threaten to impair national security and the President Trump decides to impose tariffs, any resulting tariff rate imposed under Section 232 would take the place of the current reciprocal tariff rate, pursuant to President Trump’s April 2 order.
Read more about the upcoming investigation at this link. Last week, the U.S. government also initiated Section 232 studies into imports of pharmaceutical products and semiconductors.