‘One of the things we are doing is signing a deal very shortly with respect to rare earths with Ukraine,’ Trump told reporters at the White House.
President Donald Trump said on March 20 that the United States expects to sign a minerals and natural resources deal with Ukraine “very shortly,” following delays.
Trump made the comments during a White House event after signing an executive order to boost domestic mining and production of critical minerals as well as uranium, copper, potash, and gold.
Washington and Kyiv previously planned to sign a minerals deal on Feb. 28. The deal was derailed when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s White House meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance devolved into a heated argument.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said the deal was now back on track.
In addition to increasing domestic production of critical minerals, Trump said the United States is also signing agreements in “various locations” across the globe to unlock rare earths and minerals, key components in the manufacturing of modern technology including smartphones and electric vehicles.
“In particular, Ukraine, we’re doing very well with regard to Ukraine and Russia,” Trump said. “One of the things we are doing is signing a deal very shortly with respect to rare earths with Ukraine, they have tremendous value in rare earths and we appreciate that.”
Trump also referred to his discussions this week with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy regarding the ongoing Russian invasion, which first began in 2022.
Both leaders have tentatively agreed to a cease-fire agreement that would see the two nations refrain from attacking each other’s energy infrastructure for 30 days.
“We would love to see that come to an end and I think we’re doing pretty well in that regard,” Trump said. “Hopefully we could save thousands of people a week from dying. That’s what it’s all about. They’re dying so unnecessarily, and I believe we‘ll get it done. We’ll see what happens, but I believe we’ll get it done.”
In signing an executive order increasing American production of such minerals, Trump invoked emergency powers under the Cold War-era Defense Production Act (DPA), which essentially gives the Pentagon a wide berth to procure equipment necessary for national defense.
