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The Trump administration on Wednesday pushed for a trade system involving price floors for minerals during a summit it held with representatives from multiple nations.
Vice President J.D. Vance announced the price floor initiative at the Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting at the State Department.
“This morning, the Trump administration is proposing a concrete mechanism to return the global critical minerals market to a healthier, more competitive state: a preferential trade zone for critical minerals protected from external disruptions through enforceable price floors,” Vance said.
The Trump administration has repeatedly sought to counter China’s dominance in the minerals sector, as Beijing plays a major role in both global mining and mineral refining.
This week, President Trump also announced the creation of a mineral stockpile for U.S. companies.
In January, he signed a proclamation seeking to negotiate using price floors for minerals and their projects.
Vance’s announcement appeared to expand on that initiative. He said the U.S. would set reference prices for minerals.
“For members of the preferential zone, these reference prices will operate as a floor maintained through adjustable tariffs to uphold pricing integrity,” he said.
He also sought to incentivize countries to be part of this “trade zone,” saying “for those of you who join, we offer you a necessary foundation for private financing and secure access to the critical mineral supplies your nation would require in an emergency.”
He indicated that some countries have signed onto the plan but did not specify which ones.
The move comes as the Trump administration has sought to aggressively influence foreign policy, eyeing mineral rights in Greenland and Venezuelan oil.
Vance, in his remarks, said that Venezuela’s vast oil reserves was a factor in the U.S.’s interest in nation, whose leader was captured by the U.S. at the start of the year.
“One of the reasons why we’re interested in Venezuela is because it has such a critical importance in this all important resource called oil,” he said.