U.S. President Donald Trump made the announcement on Thursday that he is to sign an agreement with Ukraine on rare earth minerals shortly.
This is after his previous statements regarding cooperation with Ukraine and Russia in different areas, including the agreement on rare earth minerals.
Trump made the remarks shortly after he signed an executive order invoking emergency authority to dramatically increase the domestic production of key minerals and rare earths in America. Trump stressed that the deals would not only target Ukraine but would also cover other regions of the world, in particular targeting the unlocking of more rare earth minerals and other resources.
Trump had earlier in an interview said he had asked Ukraine to give the United States rare earths worth $500 billion and that Ukraine had agreed to most of the terms. Trump had said that the agreement was supposed to be signed at the end of February in Washington but the meeting between Trump, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, and Trump's deputy JD Vance had turned sour and the agreement had not been signed.
This deal for rare earths demonstrates the continued strategic value of mineral resources to the U.S., particularly as demand for strategic minerals increases with efforts to end dependence on nations such as China for these materials.
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