President Trump signed two executive orders on Wednesday, imposing new tariffs on certain semiconductors and critical minerals. According to a report from the White House press pool, the tariffs are based on the national security clause within US trade law, specifically Section 232. This move comes as investors await a Supreme Court ruling on the legality of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The market widely believes that industry-specific tariffs implemented under Section 232 are unlikely to be directly affected by the Supreme Court's decision. In fact, the Trump administration has previously levied Section 232 tariffs on industries such as aluminum products and automotive parts. Analysts have long anticipated that semiconductors and critical minerals would be the next targets for tariff hikes. It is reported that the new round of tariffs includes exemptions for certain uses, such as chips intended for artificial intelligence applications and some domestic procurement. Owen Tedford, an analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors, suggested that the design of these tariffs could be highly targeted. The specific scope of the critical minerals tariffs remains unclear. Tedford noted that, considering inflationary pressures and sensitivity to rising prices, the administration might not rule out announcing the tariffs first but delaying their official implementation. In the realm of critical minerals, the US is also accelerating diplomatic coordination. This week, the US Treasury Department held meetings with officials from France, Australia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, focusing on critical mineral issues, with the US aiming to enhance supply chain security for key resources like rare earths. As of now, the White House has not provided further details regarding the specific scope or implementation specifics of the tariffs. Market observers believe that, against the backdrop of the pending Supreme Court tariff ruling, the Trump administration's use of Section 232 to advance industry-specific tariffs demonstrates that its "toolkit" for trade policy remains operational. By the close of trading on Wednesday, most semiconductor stocks declined, with NVIDIA (NVDA.US) down 1.44%, and Oracle (ORCL.US) and Broadcom (AVGO.US) falling over 4%; AMD (AMD.US) bucked the trend, rising over 1%. Stocks in the rare earth concept sector advanced, with CRITICAL METALS CORPORATION (CRML.US) surging over 32.5%, MP Materials Corp. (MP.US) up over 8.5%, and Energy Fuels (UUUU.US) gaining over 7.6%.