President Donald Trump has launched a sweeping national security investigation into U.S. dependence on foreign-controlled critical mineral imports—most of which are dominated by China. The move signals a major escalation in Trump’s efforts to reclaim industrial sovereignty and counter Beijing’s stranglehold over the global supply chain.
The executive order, signed Tuesday, directs Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to investigate the extent to which foreign mineral dumping—especially by China—is undermining U.S. national security and economic independence. “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,” Trump stated.
He warned that the U.S. reliance on a “small number of foreign suppliers” had exposed the country to massive supply chain vulnerabilities, which could devastate defense manufacturing and other critical industries if access is disrupted. “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,” Trump said.
China is widely expected to be the focal point of the probe. The communist regime has long used its near-monopoly over rare earths and critical metals like lithium and cobalt to manipulate global prices and shut down foreign competition. The practice—known as predatory pricing—involves flooding markets with minerals at below-market costs, making it impossible for U.S. and European producers to compete.
This is not a theoretical risk. The Biden administration itself complained last October that Chinese state-linked firms were tanking global lithium prices with a glut of cheap exports just as Western companies were attempting to ramp up domestic production. China used similar tactics with cobalt last spring, flooding the market with material from its operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Trump’s order demands a draft report within 90 days on the feasibility of using tariffs to deter mineral dumping and incentivize domestic production. A final version is due within six months. The goal is to curb “widespread price manipulation, overcapacity, arbitrary export restrictions, and the exploitation of supply chain dominance” that the administration says gives hostile regimes an unacceptable degree of geopolitical leverage.
The United States currently produces only a fraction of the minerals it consumes, despite having significant untapped reserves. While some lithium is mined domestically, almost all refining is handled overseas. For other metals like nickel and copper, the infrastructure is even weaker—there are only two copper smelters in the entire country. As a result, the U.S. remains dangerously exposed to foreign market shocks and supply disruptions.
The Trump administration has been aggressive in challenging these dependencies across sectors. Earlier this week, similar executive orders were issued to investigate pharmaceutical and semiconductor imports. While Trump did not mention China by name in the mineral probe, the pattern is clear: break up monopolies, revive domestic production, and prioritize national security over globalist economics.
The probe comes amid growing momentum in Congress for tougher trade protections and industrial revitalization. Many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have sounded the alarm for years over the collapse of America’s manufacturing and resource independence. But unlike prior administrations, Trump appears committed to using tariffs not as a threat, but as a policy tool for reshaping entire industries.
China’s state-run model allows it to absorb short-term losses to win long-term control. Trump’s new directive is designed to counter that strategy by enforcing price stability and strategic resilience here at home. Whether that effort will succeed depends in large part on the speed and scale of follow-through by the Commerce Department—and whether Congress backs the effort with infrastructure and regulatory reform.
For now, though, Trump is sending a message loud and clear: The era of relying on adversaries for the lifeblood of America’s economy and defense is over.
