Washington has set a hard deadline of 1 January 2027. Australian producers are on the right side of it, but only if they can prove where every gram came from. Australian critical minerals producers have been handed their clearest opening yet into the United States defence supply chain, after President Trump signed an executive order closing the loophole that let American contractors keep buying Chinese magnets, tungsten and tantalum. Executive Order 14415, signed on 20 July 2