US floats idea of launching critical minerals tariff probe

The US government is reportedly floating the idea of launching a tariff investigation into critical minerals imports, similar to what it has already done with copper.Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that US President Donald Trump may be looking to carry out a critical minerals tariff probe, citing an unnamed White House official.However, at this stage, it remains unclear when or if such investigation will take place, and whether it will fall under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act like copper did, the official told Bloomberg.A fact sheet accompanying Trump’s latest flurry of tariffs stated that the import duties would not apply to “certain minerals that are not available in the United States”, as well as “all articles that may become subject to future Section 232 tariffs.”The US Geological Survey currently lists 50 different minerals that it considers to be critical to the US economy and national security; many of these minerals have no domestic production and are 100% reliant on imports.The potential for such an action — referring to the US President’s ability to adjust imports under Section 232 — is why these minerals were excluded from Trump’s latest tariffs, the official said.Last month, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at immediately addressing America’s critical minerals production needs by invoking the Defense Production Act to expand leasing and development on federal lands.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com