President Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at boosting the ability of the United States to extract critical minerals while saying he’s still pursuing a critical minerals deal with Ukraine.
“It’s a big thing in this country. And as you know we’re also signing agreements in various locations to unlock rare earths and minerals and lots of other things all over the world, but in particular Ukraine,” Mr. Trump said at an event where he also signed an executive order aimed at dismantling the Education Department.
“One of the things we are doing is signing a deal very shortly with Ukraine with respect to rare earth,” Mr. Trump said.
The order invokes wartime powers, specifically the Defense Production Act, to tap into America’s minerals.
The Defense Production Act grants presidents broad powers to expand the production of materials deemed necessary to national security.
“Our national and economic security are now acutely threatened by our reliance upon hostile foreign powers’ mineral production. It is imperative for our national security that the United States take immediate action to facilitate domestic mineral production to the maximum possible extent,” the order reads.
Under the order, the Secretary of Interior must identify a list of federal lands known to hold mineral deposits and reserves.
Rare earth elements are 17 elements beneficial to consumer technology, including cell phones, military applications, and electric and hybrid vehicles.
Mr. Trump has focused aggressively on rare-earth minerals since returning to office.
He has talked about the United States annexing Canada and making it the 51st state because it controls some of the largest rare earth deposits in the world. He has also sought a mineral deal with Ukraine as payback for the billions in military aid provided by the U.S.
The Trump administration had brokered a deal with Ukraine to give the U.S. access to the war-ravaged country’s minerals. Mr. Trump has argued that giving the U.S. an economic stake in Ukraine’s critical minerals would increase security protections for Kyiv against Russian aggression.
On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration has “moved beyond” the mineral deal and is now trying to expand the agreement to include Ukraine’s energy facilities.
Rare earths require a significant amount of energy for extraction and a U.S. economic stake in Ukraine’s power plants would help generate the necessary power.
The Ukraine mineral deal went off track after an Oval Office meeting between Mr. Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy descended into a shouting match. However, Mr. Zelenskyy later said that he was open to signing the deal.
