Commodity Traders Poised to Profit Under Trump’s Critical Minerals Policies
Public Citizen report reveals trading firms have ramped up lobbying, pursued other insider tactics to profit from Trump’s renewed interest in critical minerals and other commodities
WASHINGTON — As the White House pursues policies intended to reshape global commodity markets, trading firms profiting from the Trump administration’s decisions have invested in lobbying and built close networks between policy makers and speculators that are unprecedented in previous administrations, according to a new report released today by Public Citizen’s Climate Program.
The report, The Secretive Commodity Traders Profiting from Trump’s Critical Minerals Agenda, found that commodity trading firms have massively ramped up spending on lobbying, racking up $2.75 million on lobbying bills in the first half of 2026, much of it through lobbying firms with direct ties to the administration. The same firms spent only $320,000 in lobbying in 2024.
“Commodity trading firms are no longer simply facilitating the machinery of global energy markets and trade,” said Mekedas Belayneh, policy advocate with Public Citizen’s Climate Program. “They have become central beneficiaries of the Trump administration’s resource decisions. Trump is creating vast exploitation opportunities for trading houses, raising questions about whether federal minerals policy is simply rewarding cronyism rather than fostering competitive markets.”
Trump’s highly volatile trade and foreign policy agendas, combined with unprecedented trade industry access to the administration, have created multiple opportunities for traders to profit. The report examines:
- a move by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to bring in trading houses Mercuria, Trafigura, and Vitol to discuss stabilizing energy markets after the U.S. bombed Iran in February;
- an agreement between the Trump administration, Mercuria, and brokerage firm Heeney Capital to broker offtake agreements for bulk Venezuelan commodities and gold;
- a Mercuria-inked contract to transport over 100,000 tons of copper to the U.S. after a peace deal between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda; and
- an ever increasing web of relationships and revolving-door connections between the Trump administration and commodities traders, including EXIM Bank President John Jovanic, a former investment director at Mercuria. Jovanic oversaw Mercuria’s involvement in a flagship critical minerals program, Project Vault.
“These backroom deals create massive profit for the administration’s selected investors,” said Belayneh. “These lucrative financing deals are made possible due to the massive risks that the Trump Administration is taking, and the companies involved stand to benefit from their cozy relationship with President Trump.”
# # #