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Donald Trump threatened to apply definitions to critical minerals in a step that could increase tensions with China and open a new front in a global trade war that shook the markets.

In an executive order on Tuesday, the US President ordered the Ministry of Commerce to study critical metal supply chains and reach ways to increase American production while reducing dependence on imports.

The investigation can lead to a new Definitions It is imposed. Trump’s advertisement comes slightly more than two weeks after the “Tahrir Day” tariff raised a few days of turmoil in the market and warnings that deepening China could turn the global economy into recession.

“President Trump realizes that excessive dependence on critical foreign minerals and its derivative products can endanger American defense capabilities, infrastructure development, and technological innovation.”

The investigation threatens to create a new trade war for critical minerals, as the United States is trying to struggle to control a decisive industry dominated by China. It comes after China Hanging exports from several Heavy, heavy ground minerals and rare Earth magnets used in the defense, robotics and energy industries for buyers all over the world.

The Trump administration continues from the initiatives that started during the Biden administration to reduce American dependence on metal and mineral opponents used in everything from electric car batteries to jet engines to missiles.

Although the White House emphasized the importance of the rare minerals and land of military applications, any deficiency can affect companies in the sectors of energy to the manufacture of cars.

Financial times this week stated that the White House was the formulation of an executive order to enable Metal storage It was found at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, as part of the broadest effort to counter China’s dominance of rare Earth supply chains.

An investigation will be conducted under Article 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Law, which Trump used to launch investigations into chips, copper and wood. The law was also used to apply customs tariffs to cars, steel and aluminum.

The executive order said that any resulting tariff will replace any “mutual” tariff rates placed on these critical minerals, which can theory lead to a tariff on those minerals that are reduced instead of raising them.

The White House said that the United States has been “dependent on foreign sources, especially hostilities, for these basic materials”, on the pretext that it was subjected to the country “economic coercion.”

In a recent article in Washington quarterly annualEvan Mediros and Andrew Polk, two experts in China, said that Beijing has expanded since 2018 its economic tools group to take revenge on the United States and other countries.

Instead of combating customs tariffs with definitions, Beijing has greatly sought its forced tools group to include export controls on critical minerals. In December 2023, for example, China returned to American efforts to reduce its dependence on Chinese metal supply chains by Export One of the critical rare Earth processing equipment.

The White House said that along with the preservation of rare Earth exports this week, China recently banned exports to the United States of Galium, Gallemium and Antimon, as well as other materials with military applications.

Last year, Beijing has warned Japan that it would prohibit gallium, gearbate and graphite exports if Tokyo is closely compatible with Washington on export controls related to technology. The United States wanted to impose certain controls to make it difficult for China to obtain advanced American technologies in semiconductor and artificial intelligence.