President Donald Trump on Tuesday launched a far-reaching investigation to determine whether U.S. imports of processed critical minerals and the finished products that contain those materials should be subject to higher tariffs.
The president’s executive order — largely seen as an escalation in the evolving trade war between the U.S., China and other countries — could affect products like electric vehicles to wind turbines.
The order emphasizes a well-known conundrum that the U.S. faces: The nation is reliant on a small number of countries — namely China — for processed minerals, semifinished goods like wafers, anodes and cathodes, and finished products like magnets and motors.
That reliance raises risks for national security, defense, prices and the country’s overall economic resilience, the president’s order states.
