The United States has taken another step in its effort to reduce reliance on China for strategic raw materials, with President Donald Trump signing a sweeping executive order designed to secure Americas defense supply chains - placing Africas mineral-rich economies firmly at the center of an intensifying geopolitical contest

Peter Navarro said the purpose of the order was to eliminate American "dependencies on the rest of the world."

A new executive order aims to make it harder for U.S. defense contractors to buy critical minerals and other materials from prohibited foreign suppliers.