A US presidential review of the Section 232 (S232) investigation into critical minerals concludes that action is needed to protect national security. Reversing the approach taken with previous actions, President Trump has elected to commence with a 180-day period of negotiations to secure critical mineral supplies (the carrot) whilst retaining the option to apply import quotas, tariffs or other actions at any time (the stick). This may present a window of opportunity to unwind some of the ~400 koz of excess CME platinum warehouse inventories to take advantage of the international market tightness. However, the capricious nature of the current US administration and uncertain timeline means assuming future metal imports will be unencumbered comes with risks.Furthermore, even if the full 400 koz of excess platinum inventory is temporarily available to the market, it is insufficient to materially rebuild above ground stocks, which would remain below the depleted level reached in May 2025 that prompted the start of the platinum price rally. Source: Metals Focus, WPIC research, 3E – Platinum, Palladium and Rhodium
