Donald Trump’s next trade war move? Stockpile the metals China has dominance in

The stockpile is being considered as part of a broader push to fast-track deep-sea mining applications under US law, and to create onshore processing capacity.

The US government has reportedly devised a plan aimed at countering China’s dominance in battery minerals and rare earth supply chains through an executive order.

US President Donald Trump (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) walk together at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. (AFP File)

According to a report by the Financial Times, the Donald Trump administration is drafting an executive order to enable the stockpiling of deep-sea metals.

Under the plans, the stockpile would "create large quantities ready and available on US territory to be used in the future", in case of a conflict with China that might constrain imports of metals and rare earths, the report added, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The stockpile is being considered as part of a broader push to fast-track deep-sea mining applications under US law, and to create onshore processing capacity, the report added.

The Trump administration is engaged in a tariff and trade war with Beijing, slapping the world’s second-largest economy with a hefty 145 percent levy on imports into the United States. China clapped back with a 125 percent tariff on US goods.

Why is the US trying to cut China’s dominance of rare earth metal supply lines?

The US action may also stem from the fact that China also placed some rare earth elements under export restrictions as part of its response to Donald Trump's tariff package, potentially cutting the US off from minerals vital to everything from smartphones to electric car batteries.

China produces around 90 per cent of the world's refined rare earths, a group of 17 elements used across the defense, electric vehicle, clean energy, and electronics industries. The US imports most of its rare earths, and most come from China.

(With Reuters inputs)