[CTC] USTR ordered to pursue critical minerals deals in lieu of immediate tariffs

[Arthur Stamoulis]

*USTR ordered to pursue critical minerals deals in lieu of immediate
tariffs*

By Brett Fortnam <https://insidetrade.com/authors/Brett-Fortnam>, Inside
U.S. Trade

January 14, 2026 at 5:05 PM



President Trump on Wednesday ordered the Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative to pursue negotiations to secure U.S. access for critical
minerals to mitigate what the Commerce Department calls a national security
threat caused by U.S. import reliance on those minerals and their
derivatives.

Commerce last year launched an investigation into imports of processed
critical minerals and derivative products under Section 232 of the Trade
Expansion Act of 1962. The report, according to a *proclamation Trump
signed on Wednesday*
<https://insidetrade.com/sites/insidetrade.com/files/documents/2026/jan/wto2026_0043a.pdf>,
was
delivered to the president in October. It has not been released.

“Based on the facts considered in that investigation, which took into
account the close relation of the economic welfare of the Nation to our
national security and other relevant factors, ... the Secretary found and
advised me of his opinion that [processed critical minerals and their
derivative products] are being imported into the United States in such
quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the
national security of the United States.”

The administration has used Section 232 to impose tariffs on a litany of
imports, including steel, aluminum, autos, lumber and others, and officials
have said it is one of the tools the administration could use to replicate
tariffs if the Supreme Court rules that the administration’s use of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the
president to impose broad duties.

But the critical minerals proclamation notably does not impose tariffs on
any critical minerals. It does, however, suggest such tariffs could be
implemented if the U.S. cannot reach critical minerals deals with its
trading partners.

“The Secretary and the Trade Representative, and any other senior executive
branch officials they deem appropriate, shall jointly pursue negotiation of
agreements to address the threatened impairment of the national security
with respect to imports of PCMDPs from any country,” it reads. “In
negotiating, the Secretary and the Trade Representative should consider
price floors for trade in critical minerals and other trade-restricting
measures.”

The proclamation notes that the Section 232 statute authorizes the
president to negotiate with foreign trade partners agreements that adjust
imports to address national security threats and suggests action could be
taken if such deals are not reached within six months. “[T]he president may
also take other actions he deems necessary to adjust imports and eliminate
the threat to the national security, including if such an agreement is not
entered into within 180 days of the date of this proclamation or is not
being carried out or is ineffective,” it says.

The Commerce secretary and the USTR are to update the president on the
status of negotiations within 180 days, per the proclamation.

The administration has *struck broad critical minerals agreements*
<https://insidetrade.com/node/184614> with some trading partners, including
Japan, Australia, Malaysia and Thailand.

Commerce, it said, has “found that the United States is too reliant on
foreign sources of PCMDPs, lacks access to a sufficiently secure and
reliable supply chain to PCMDPs, is experiencing unsustainable price
volatility with respect to critical mineral markets, and is suffering from
weakened domestic manufacturing and production capacity of PCMDPs.” It also
found that “these circumstances are a significant national security
vulnerability that could be exploited by foreign actors; weaken the
industrial resilience of the United States; expose the American people to
supply chain disruptions, economic instability, and strategic
vulnerabilities; and jeopardize the United States’ ability to meet demands
for PCMDPs that are essential to its national defense and critical
infrastructure.”

The U.S. is 100 percent import-reliant for 12 critical minerals, it adds,
and “50 percent or greater net-import reliant for a further 29 critical
minerals. Even where the United States has domestic mining capacity, such
as for cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements, the United States lacks the
domestic processing capacity to avoid downstream net-import reliance.”

The U.S. also has limited processing capacity, it continues. Accordingly,
the country is “too entirely reliant on imports of rare earth permanent
magnets to meet commercial demand, and United States production currently
meets only a fraction of defense needs. Mining a mineral domestically does
not safeguard the national security of the United States if the United
States remains dependent on a foreign country for the processing of that
mineral.”

“In addition, the Secretary found that the United States lacks access to a
sufficiently secure and reliable supply chain for PCMDPs,” it says. “Even
with respect to the minerals for which the United States has only partial
import reliance, supply disruptions can still expose important sectors –
such as defense, aerospace, telecommunications, and transportation – to
serious risk.” – *Brett Fortnam *(*bfortnam at iwpnews.com*
<bfortnam at iwpnews.com>)
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