A unique trademark of the current U.S. administration is its clear "America First" approach when it comes to trade, which extends to the mining and metals sector, says partner Braden Jebson in an interview with Cabin Radio.
"What we're seeing is a real America First approach in how they're viewing critical minerals, as far as securing access to critical minerals and then the processing of those critical minerals within the United States," Braden said. "That hasn't historically been as much of a focus of the U.S. government, and that is clearly a focus of the new administration."
Under the Joe Biden administration, the U.S. promised millions of dollars to mineral projects based in Canada that would be mutually beneficial for both countries. President Trump, however, has been less collegial, imposing tariffs and threatening to annex Canada to gain access to its critical minerals, the Cabin Radio article explains.
President Trump's policies could have a short-term impact on some of Canada's supply chains, Braden says, but an America First approach to critical mineral sourcing and processing—as well as a full-scale annexation of Canada— "is not particularly realistic."
"A sort-of North American approach to stable supply chains where the minerals are mined in Canada and the United States and processed in Canada and the United States still makes the most sense," he said.
Braden also points out that there are potential opportunities for Canada to take its own "self-contained approach to critical minerals," but that we would face the same challenges as an American First approach.
"We don't have all of the critical minerals we need, the scale and scope of the processing that we would need to do," he said. "Each country having its own individual sort of self-contained supply chain is challenging and not necessarily realistic."
Instead, Canada should capitalize on this opportunity to establish and strengthen relationships with other allies around the world and build "a stronger and diverse supply chain than we have right now," Braden said.
The U.S.'s approach to trade has also sparked increased interest in interprovincial and territorial trade within Canada, Braden says, which could help the critical mineral industry overcome some of the barriers is currently faces.
You can learn more about our Mining and Metals work on our practice page.