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The Bureau of Industry and Security opened a §232 national-security investigation covering imports of cobalt, manganese, graphite, rare earths, and fifteen other processed critical minerals. The Presidential memorandum accompanying the initiation cited concentrated Chinese midstream processing capacity, the January 12 expiration of DPA Title III allocation authority, and the failure of private-market offtake agreements to meet the stockpile targets set in the 2024 Critical Minerals Security Act. Commerce must submit its report within 270 days. Industry response has been bifurcated: domestic refiners welcomed the investigation while EV, aerospace, and defense supply-chain stakeholders warned that tariff remedies would raise downstream costs absent paired tax-credit or DPA purchase authorities.
Commerce cited the expiration of DPA Title III allocation authority on 2026-01-12 and the failure of private-market offtake agreements to meet stockpile targets set in the 2024 Critical Minerals Security Act.
Section 232 tariffs on inputs would raise costs across the EV, aerospace, and defense supply chains, creating political pressure for carve-outs. Treasury and USTR reportedly dissented from the initiation decision, preferring tax credits and DPA authorities over tariff measures.