“To establish within the Office of the United States Trade Representative a Chief Critical Minerals Negotiator, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states congressional findings recognizing that critical minerals, including rare earth elements, are essential for U.S. national security and economic resilience; that processed critical minerals support the defense industrial base in applications such as jet engines, missile guidance systems, advanced computing, radar systems, advanced optics, and secure communications equipment; that the United States is heavily dependent on foreign sources of critical minerals, exposing the economy and defense sector to supply chain disruptions and economic coercion; and that foreign producers have engaged in price manipulation, overcapacity, and arbitrary export restrictions to exert geopolitical and economic leverage.
This section establishes within the Office of the United States Trade Representative a Chief Critical Minerals Negotiator position, appointed by the President with Senate advice and consent (with nominations referred to the Senate Committee on Finance), who holds office at the President's pleasure and has the rank of Ambassador. (1) The position's principal functions include conducting trade negotiations and enforcing trade agreements regarding critical minerals, addressing foreign trade partners' acts, policies, or practices with respect to critical minerals, and leading coordination of the office's critical minerals policy in consultation with the Secretaries of State, Energy, and the Interior (or designees) and others as determined by the Trade Representative. (2) Not later than September 30, 2026, and annually thereafter, the Chief Critical Minerals Negotiator must submit to the House Committee on Ways and Means and Senate Committee on Finance—and concurrently publish on the United States Trade Representative's public website—a report reviewing, for countries with significant U.S. trade relationships or posing supply chain risks, foreign acts, policies, or practices in critical minerals trade that create vulnerabilities to U.S. defense, energy, or critical infrastructure sectors or violate, are inconsistent with, or deny benefits under U.S. trade agreements; the report must also update prior response plans. (3) Not later than 30 days after each report, the Chief Critical Minerals Negotiator must submit to the same committees a response plan to identified adverse practices, including any actions under title III of this Act.