On January 14, 2026, President Donald Trump issued Proclamation 11001, concluding that processed critical minerals and their derivative products (PCMDPs) would not be subject now to an additional tariff under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Section 232 authorizes the president to adjust duties on goods imported in quantities or under circumstances that threaten U.S. national security following an affirmative finding from a Department of Commerce investigation.
The proclamation, however, makes clear that the decision not to impose an additional Section 232 tariff on PCMDPs may be short-lived. Proclamation 11001 directs the Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative to pursue negotiations with trading partners over the next 180 days to ensure the United States maintains adequate supplies of critical minerals while mitigating supply-chain vulnerabilities affecting PCMDPs. “Depending on the status or outcome of those negotiations,” the proclamation reads, the Trump administration “may consider alternative remedies in the future,” including the imposition of an additional sectoral tariff. Such a tariff could be imposed by July 2026.
The President’s decision follows a Section 232 investigation into PCMDPs initiated by the Department of Commerce in April 2025 (see Update of April 16, 2025). According to the proclamation, the Department transmitted its final report to the President on October 24, 2025. While that report has not been made public, Proclamation 11001 summarizes the Department’s conclusions that: (1) PCMDPs are “embedded across defense and commercial supply chains” and play an essential role in the production of advanced weapons systems, energy infrastructure, and everyday consumer goods; (2) the United States is overly reliant on foreign sources of PCMDPs and lacks access to sufficiently secure and reliable PCMDP supply chains against a backdrop of unsustainable price volatility in the critical mineral markets; and (3) domestic PCMDP manufacturing and production capacity has “weakened,” leaving the United States dependent on downstream imports of PCMDPs.