Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. critical minerals list was widened to include copper and metallurgical coal. This smart move seeks to bolster our national supply chain for defense, domestic manufacturing and clean energy technologies. The decision is a big victory for the administration’s efforts to ramp up domestic mining operations. It seeks to reduce our dependency on imports, especially from China.
The expanded list serves as a blueprint for Washington’s initiative to secure necessary materials that underpin key industries and drive technological innovation. This time it’s especially noteworthy though. Compounding this issue, China continues to dominate global refining of many critical minerals, which raises further concerns about supply availability. Trump’s boosterism for fossil fuels really stands out in how metallurgical coal was included in the motivations. This metallurgical coal is used almost exclusively to produce steel and in other industrial processes.
In just the last few months, a dozen U.S. metallurgical coal mines have closed. That’s all because there’s a glut of domestic supply and exports to China have plummeted. Since the beginning of this year, China has slapped a 15% tariff on imports of U.S. coal. This action makes already fragile trade relations even worse.
Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association, elaborated on the need for expanding the critical minerals list. As he put it, “make sure that the U.S. has the plentiful homegrown resources it requires, when it requires them.” In all these areas, industry leaders are experiencing a greater urgency to fortify domestic production.
Infrastructure investment requirements
They aim to reduce the impact of adverse supply shocks or export bans that rival nations may impose.
Now, the Interior Department is stressing the importance of securing these crucial domestic supplies. They are key for maintaining the backbone infrastructure that powers today’s modern American economy. Expanding the critical minerals list is a national security imperative. Secondly, it aims to promote economic development through job creation in the mining industry.
In a wide-ranging discussion with Reuters earlier this year, Freeport CEO Kathleen Quirk discussed some of the challenges that make copper production so complicated. She remarked, “We’re not looking for handouts, but if the government is trying to incentivize domestic [copper] production, it’s important to recognize that the U.S. doesn’t have the same grades that we have internationally.” Her comments point to the truly difficult climate that U.S. mining companies must operate in, making them unable to compete globally.
Make no mistake though, domestic production efforts are red hot. The administration’s ongoing efforts to reduce U.S. reliance on imports from China have the potential to be monumental in determining the course of U.S. mining and energy-related industries. Our improved list definitely represents an important forward step. Its overall goal is to increase our domestic production of key materials critical for national defense and technological advancement.