Trump weighs tariffs as tool to break China’s stranglehold on ‘critical minerals’

President Donald Trump ordered a probe into new tariffs on “critical minerals” amid a push to reduce America’s reliance on imported goods, particularly those from China.

Trump signed an executive order directing Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to investigate the possibility and feasibility of new tariffs on “critical minerals” such as cobalt, lithium, nickel and others crucial to production of advanced goods like computer chips. The national security probe falls under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the same law Trump used to enact a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum.

Moreover, China halted the export of the metals Sunday amid a burgeoning trade war with the U.S.

The communist country accounted for 70% of rare earth metal imports to the U.S. from 2020 to 2023, according to the U.S. geological survey published in January. China has by far the largest reserves of rare earth metals as well, holding a massive 44 million tons as of January 2025.

“Critical minerals, including rare earth elements, in the form of processed minerals are essential raw materials and critical production inputs required for economic and national security,” the order reads. “Critical mineral oxides, oxalates, salts, and metals (processed critical minerals), as well as their derivative products — the manufactured goods incorporating them — are similarly foundational to United States national security and defense.”

Chinese mining companies have been flooding the market with cheap stores of rare earth metals, especially lithium, crowding out potential rivals by keeping prices prohibitively low, a U.S. official told Reuters in October.

Rare earth metals are used in a myriad of advanced products, including computer chips, car parts, and a host of other electronic uses.

“Should the United States lose access to processed critical minerals from foreign sources, the United States commercial and defense manufacturing base for derivative products could face significant shortages and an inability to meet demand,” the order reads.

The Department of Commerce did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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