Clarity sought on critical minerals as US floats trade probe
The White House is floating the idea of potentially launching a tariff investigation into critical minerals imports, causing further confusion on a key market prioritized by President Donald Trump.
The Trump administration is looking at carrying out an investigation of such imports, a White House official said Wednesday, similar to the probe already launched for copper under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. The official didn’t offer a timeline or say whether it would also be a 232 investigation. But the potential for such an action is why these minerals were excluded from Trump’s latest tariffs, the official said.
A White House fact sheet said this week’s flurry of tariffs wouldn’t apply to “certain minerals that are not available in the United States” and to “all articles that may become subject to future Section 232 tariffs.”
It’s unclear what minerals the administration would consider investigating since the US Geological Survey lists 50 different minerals as “critical” — many of which aren’t produced or available in the country. It’s also unclear what countries, if any, the US might consider exempting from import tariffs. Any trade restrictions could further hinder the US ability to access key materials needed for national defence and technology sectors that are already under duress from China’s decision to curb metals exports.
“What we need to know is what’s on the list, who do we give exemptions to?” Gracelin Baskaran, director of the critical minerals security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in a phone interview. “To what extent does it become a bargaining chip as countries come to DC entering a new era for negations of economic statecraft.”
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