Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Delegates Defense Production Act Authority with Respect to Recoverable Critical Minerals and Materials That Are Essential to Our National Defense

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Delegates Defense Production Act Authority with Respect to Recoverable Critical Minerals and Materials That Are Essential to Our National Defense
SECURING AMERICA’S SUPPLY CHAINS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a Presidential Determination delegating authority under the Defense Production Act to institute export restrictions on recoverable critical minerals and materials (CMMs).
- The Determination finds that CMMs are critical industrial resources necessary to promoting the national defense, particularly with regard to military production, industrial applications, and national security.
- The Determination finds that the United States relies heavily on imports of certain CMMs from foreign sources, threatening serious and sustained supply chain disruptions.
- The Determination grants the Secretary of Commerce the authority to institute export restrictions on CMMs.
ENSURING OUR NATIONAL DEFENSE: President Trump is taking action to ensure that the United States has the industrial resources necessary to ensure our national defense and security.
- The United States holds substantial CMMs in finished goods like permanent magnets and lithium-ion batteries, yet simultaneously relies heavily on imports of certain CMMs from foreign sources, some of which are at risk of serious, sustained, and long-term supply chain disruptions.
- Found in industrial waste materials, once finished items containing CMMs reach end-of-life, the CMMs within them can be reclaimed and recycled.
- CMMs are crucial to maintaining and strengthening the function, security, and resilience of critical infrastructure sectors.
- 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.
RESTORING AMERICAN INDUSTRY: President Trump’s leadership has restored America’s military and national security by securing reliable supplies of critical materials and supply chains.
- President Trump campaigned on the promise to rebuild American industry and America’s depleted military equipment and supplies, emphasizing the need to restore its strength and readiness after years of neglect.
- In March 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to boost American mineral production, streamline permitting, and enhance national security.
- In April 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to modernize defense acquisitions and spur innovation in the defense industrial base.
- In January 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order to negotiate agreements with trading partners to address the threatened impairment of national security with respect to imports of processed critical minerals and their derivative products (PCMDPs).
- In July 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order to secure America’s defense supply chains for the cutting-edge equipment that allows the U.S. to dominate the modern battlefield, particularly, ensuring domestic supplies of the critical materials and components necessary to manufacture that equipment.