President Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order directing the Commerce Department to open a national security investigation that would lay the groundwork for the administration to impose tariffs on critical minerals, the latest sector to potentially face tariffs as part of Trump’s growing trade war.

Trump signed an order initiating the probe, known as a Section 232 investigation, that will determine the impact on national security of imported processed critical minerals.

The executive order makes the case that importing critical minerals has led to “significant” dependence on foreign countries for those materials.

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