US proposes critical minerals trade zones, price floors to secure supply chains

The Trump administration is proposing a critical minerals trade bloc and a preferential trading zone to return the global critical minerals market to a more competitive state, US Vice President JD Vance said Feb. 4.

Vance, addressing delegations at the State Department's Critical Minerals Ministerial, asked countries to join the "Agreement on Trade and Critical Minerals." This includes a preferential trade zone for critical minerals protected from external disruptions through "enforceable price floors."

The Trump administration has unveiled a suite of policies aimed at boosting critical minerals production by the US and its allies, including unleashing deepsea mining in US coastal waters. US President Donald Trump ordered the creation of "Project Vault" on Feb. 2, a critical minerals reserve intended to maintain a supply of key metals needed by private companies.

The administration held off on imposing tariffs oncritical minerals.

The Trump administration's proposal would establish reference prices for critical minerals at each stage of production and pricing that "reflects real-world fair market value." For members who join the preferential zone, reference prices will operate as a floor maintained through adjustable tariffs to uphold pricing integrity.

"We want to eliminate that problem of people flooding into our markets with cheap critical minerals to undercut our domestic manufacturers," Vance said.

The Trump administration wants members to form a trading bloc among allies and partners that would guarantee access to the US industry while expanding production across the entire zone, Vance said.

Regardless of how much material flows into the global market, prices within the preferential trade zone would remain consistent, Vance said. The long-term goal is for the zone to create diverse centers of production, stable investment conditions and supply chains immune to external disruptions.

Members who join the bloc will have a foundation for private financing and secure access to critical mineral supplies required in an emergency or other contingency.

"By regulating imports to preserve free and fair competition within the preferential trading zone, we will elevate our nation's miners and refiners, our investors and our producers alike," Vance said. "We are all on the same team, and we need to create the economic incentives that reward people for investing and building in our countries."

The Critical Minerals Ministerial included delegations that represent nearly two-thirds of the world's gross domestic product, Vance said. He encouraged allies to finalize agreements with the US as quickly as possible.

"While we believe America's market is large enough to create its own critical minerals trading zone, this entire effort will be stronger and far more competitive if we build it together," Vance said.

There are 55 partners the US hopes to collaborate with on critical minerals, and many have already signed on, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the ministerial.

The frameworks are designed to create alternative sources of supply and to protect every stage of production, including mining, refining, processing and manufacturing, Rubio said. He said the new initiative was discussed during the first session of the ministerial.

"This must be an international global initiative with like-minded countries who all have one thing in common: We want to see diverse supply of critical minerals and secure and resilient supply chains across the world so all of our economies can prosper," Rubio said.