President Donald Trump signed an export restriction directive to ensure recovered critical minerals and materials are used for domestic national defense and industry.
On July 30, he signed a Presidential Determination to restrict CMM exports under the Defense Production Act of 1950. The Korean War era act was meant to guide U.S. industry to produce essential national defense goods but has broadened beyond military purposes to include emergency preparedness.
This development is the latest in ongoing Trump administration actions to strengthen the U.S. supply chain for CMMs and reverse reliance on foreign sources, especially from China.
Recoverable CMMs include “black mass, end-of-life, rare-earth permanent magnets or other goods that have fully completed the manufacturing process; swarf; and other waste and scrap containing critical minerals and materials.”
Trump’s new directive authorizes the Secretary of Commerce (Howard Lutnick) to impose CMM export restrictions. The White House issued a Fact Sheet with the new directive citing:
- U.S. overreliance on certain CMMs from foreign countries could result in serious supply chain disruptions and
- CMMs are key industrial components for national defense, especially for “military production, industrial applications, and national security.”
It noted there are substantial CMMs domestically in permanent magnets and lithium-ion batteries.
“Found in industrial waste materials, once finished items containing CMMs reach end-of-life, the CMMs within them can be reclaimed and recycled,” according to the Fact Sheet. “CMMs are pervasive in defense supply chains and are key inputs in advanced defense systems that support technological superiority, operational readiness, and an array of high-performance military equipment.”
New Report on Critical Minerals Recycling Technologies
The directive from the White House was issued several days after the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a 39-page report technology assessment called “Critical Minerals: Reducing U.S. Import Reliance with Substitution and Recycling Technologies.”
It noted that the federal government has identified 60 vulnerable critical minerals supporting the national security and economy. The report noted that substitution and recycling technologies improve domestic CMM production but from two to at least 10 years are needed for U.S. industry to develop, especially for use in batteries and semiconductors.
GAO identified four policy options to reduce reliance on imported CMMs and overcome barriers to technologies for recycling and substitution.
The continuous federal focus on developing domestic sources of recycled CMMs is likely to incentivize technological advancements to result in greater supply chain resilience.