Trump administration seeks public input for proposed critical minerals trade agreement

On February 26, 2026, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) opened a public docket to seek stakeholder input for a proposed "Plurilateral Agreement on Trade in Critical Minerals."¹ The Trump administration intends to use the proposed trade agreement to establish new multinational price management and investment support policies to develop a more resilient and diversified critical minerals supply chain for the United States and like-minded partners.

The proposal follows from President Trump's January 20, 2026 Section 232 Proclamation addressing national security risks associated with imports of processed critical minerals and their derivative products, in which he instructed USTR to enter negotiations with U.S. trade partners to adjust imports of certain mineral products and stated that he may consider imposing tariffs in the future.²

USTR's proposed Plurilateral Agreement on Trade in Critical Minerals

In the notice, USTR states that it is "evaluating policy actions to enhance all elements of domestic production of critical minerals and improve the overall resilience of U.S. critical minerals supply chains."³ The policy framework is still in early development, with USTR suggesting that "[o]ne possible approach is a plurilateral agreement on trade in critical minerals and downstream products with like-minded partners that would create investment incentives for expanding supply chains for certain critical minerals." The agreement would include policy tools to "determine pricing mechanisms that reflect the market economy-based cost of production for certain critical minerals to enable new private-sector or public-private investment and reduce the coercive impact of non-market policies and practices. The pricing mechanism, USTR states, should "allow the United States and other parties to the agreement to develop supply chains for these minerals that correct for non-market policies and practices that distort global prices." While the design of the pricing mechanism has yet to be determined, Trump administration officials have repeatedly referenced proposals to use price floors enforced by a common external tariff.⁴ The U.S. government and its negotiating partners have also referenced possibilities of including standards-based markets, price-gap subsidies, and offtake-agreements.

Beyond the pricing mechanism and domestic investment incentives, USTR anticipates the agreement will cover recycling, environmental protection, and labor standards. For recycling, USTR is exploring ways to secure domestic access to scrap and recycling materials, though details remain limited. High environmental and labor standards are expected to be included, consistent with provisions found in other recent U.S. trade agreements.

Designing the agreement

USTR acknowledges that developing resilient supply chains for critical minerals requires tailored approaches, noting that "each critical mineral has its own supply chain and market dynamics" and "[u]nderstanding the nuances of those supply chains and markets is necessary for any market-based supply chain development to occur and for an effective resilience policy to succeed." Designing a policy that can address these diverse needs will require detailed engagement from the affected industries. Through the request for public input, USTR aims to gain insights into mineral pricing systems, market structures, and identify points in supply chains where price interventions could be most beneficial. This engagement will also help determine which border measures would best support the agreement's price management objectives.

Submitting stakeholder input

Interested stakeholders are invited to submit comments to the public docket on USTR's website through March 19, 2026.⁵ The notice provides additional instructions on how to submit comments and questions of interest for USTR, which include suggestions for prioritization of minerals and countries, suggested pricing methods, regulatory standards, investment governance interests, international policy coordination needs, and agreement enforcement, among others.

Initial negotiating steps and partner governments

USTR has also begun early conversations about the proposed agreement with a small group of like-minded partners. Japan, the European Union (EU), and Mexico are the first economies to express interest in participating in the negotiations. As a starting point for these discussions, USTR recently developed an Action Plan with Mexico⁶ and is in the process of developing Action Plans with the EU and Japan.⁷

The Critical Minerals Ministerial

The USTR proposal is a separate initiative from the Department of State's bilateral cooperation frameworks and memorandums of understanding, which were the focus of the Critical Minerals Ministerial in early February.⁸ While the Department of State appears focused on fostering cooperation and investment promotion, USTR's mandate is to develop a legally-enforceable, plurilateral trade agreement with a common price mechanism. This agreement will require a greater level of commitment from participating members compared to the Department of State's initiatives, resulting in a longer negotiation process and likely a more limited group of like-minded partners.

_{1 "Request for Comments on the Design of a Plurilateral Agreement on Trade in Critical Minerals and Policy Actions To Strengthen the Resilience of Critical Mineral Supply Chains," 91 FR 9686 (February 26, 2026).
2 See White & Case's detailed analysis of the Section 232 proclamation and a discussion of what types of critical minerals could be within the scope of these trade agreement discussions in "President Trump orders critical minerals trade negotiations in Section 232 action."
3 See White & Case's detailed analysis and a graphical breakdown of the market's perspectives on mining and metals in 2026 in "Mining & metals 2026: Adapting to a policy-driven business cycle."
4 See, for example, Vice President J.D. Vance's opening remarks at the Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting on February 4, 2026.
5 Public Docket: Request for Comments on the Design of a Plurilateral Agreement on Trade in Critical Minerals and Policy Actions to Strengthen the Resilience of Critical Mineral Supply Chains.
6 "Ambassador Jamieson Greer Announces U.S.-Mexico Action Plan on Critical Minerals," USTR, February 4, 2026.
7 "Ambassador Jamieson Greer Announces Critical Minerals Cooperation with the European Union and Japan," USTR, February 4, 2026.
8 Department of State Factsheet: "2026 Critical Minerals Ministerial," February 4, 2026.}

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_{This article is prepared for the general information of interested persons. It is not, and does not attempt to be, comprehensive in nature. Due to the general nature of its content, it should not be regarded as legal advice.}

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