The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking public input through March 19 to inform the development of trade policy that supports and enhances the resilience of critical mineral supply chains and downstream industries that depend on them. The agency indicates that the intended means of achieving that resilience are the generation of demand for market-based production and the acceleration of the buildout of market-based supply.
USTR welcomes input on trade policies necessary to increase the domestic availability of mined, refined, and processed critical minerals; incentivize reshoring of the mining, processing, refining, and production of critical minerals and their derivatives; and diversify the sources of mined, refined, and processed critical minerals and their derivatives among like-minded trading partners.
In particular, USTR welcomes comments on the commitments necessary to establish a resilient and non-distorted marketplace among aligned trading partners, including in the context of a legally binding plurilateral agreement. The agency anticipates that such an agreement will include a commitment by all parties to implement minimum prices or other price mechanisms, with appropriate border measures, to ensure secure and fairly-priced markets among the parties to the agreement, in order to generate demand for critical minerals produced for market-based investments. USTR is interested in receiving input on appropriate price mechanisms that would enable investment and appropriate financial returns in the mining, processing, and refining of critical minerals.
In addition, comments may be submitted on efforts to accelerate the buildout of market-based supply, such as efforts to ensure that scrap metal flows into additional domestic production and that policies and practices abroad do not undermine investment at home.
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