Overview
- Under a Section 232 proclamation, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and USTR Jamieson Greer have 180 days—until July 13, 2026—to secure binding deals that diversify critical-mineral processing.
- If negotiations fall short or prove ineffective, the president authorized remedial steps including tariffs, quotas, or mandatory minimum import prices.
- Trump opted against immediate tariffs and directed talks that explicitly consider price floors, a concept discussed this week by G7 finance ministers and partners such as Australia.
- Lawmakers introduced the SECURE Minerals Act to create a $2.5 billion Strategic Resilience Reserve managed by a seven-member board, empowered to buy and stockpile key minerals and potentially establish a Western price benchmark; allied participation would be allowed with at least $100 million.
- The push follows findings that the U.S. was fully import reliant for 12 critical minerals and at least 50% reliant for 29 more as China dominates refining, with the Pentagon continuing equity investments in domestic projects including MP Materials and Atlantic Alumina.