Critical Minerals Trade Agreements Put Profits Over Human Rights and the Environment, Warn 35+ Organizations
WASHINGTON, D.C — Public Citizen joins 35 civil society, environmental, faith, and human rights organizations today in calling on the Trump administration to halt any ongoing negotiations on critical minerals agreements until the process is opened to public input and affected communities are meaningfully consulted.
In the letter, the groups warn that reports of new minerals-related deals being pursued with countries around the world — including last week’s“strategic partnership agreement” related to rare earth minerals between the United States and the Democratic Republic of Congo — raise serious concerns about transparency, human rights, worker and environmental exploitation, and sovereignty.
The groups urge the administration to commit to:
- Strong, binding labor, environmental, human, and indigenous rights standards with swift and certain enforcement;
- Policies that advance sustainable development, job creation, and minerals circularity in both the U.S and partner countries; and
- A transparent process with full congressional review and approval, as required by law.
Together, the groups also reject “minerals-for-security” agreements or deals that prioritize military interests or investor profits over human rights and a just clean energy transition; and pledge to “vigorously oppose” any minerals deal that does not meet these standards.
Quotes from signatory organizations:
“It is vital that local and Indigenous communities be informed and afforded the opportunity to provide input and participate in any agreements that affect their land and the mineral resources beneath their feet.”
- Maurice Carney, Co-founder and Executive Director, Friends of the Congo
“For any mineral deal, respect for human rights, Indigenous Peoples, environmental and labor standards must lead the way. Congress should advise and consent only to mineral agreements that uphold these values, promote mineral circularity, and reject colonizing another country’s resource.”
- Aaron Mintzes, Deputy Policy Director and Counsel, Earthworks
“By plundering resources, disregarding public health and worker safety, and ignoring the most impacted communities, Trump is supercharging the global race to the bottom he claimed that only he could fix.”
- Harry Manin, Industrial Campaign Lead, Sierra Club
“It is unacceptable for Trump to use tariff threats to bully countries into secretive deals to exploit their mineral resources with no regard for the communities who bear the burden of dangerous and dirty extraction.”
- Melinda St. Louis, Global Trade Watch Director, Public Citizen
Additional resources:
- Trump’s U.S.-Malaysia Deal: Cementing Extractivist Colonialism
- Trade and Critical Minerals: The Deadly Cost of Cobalt Mining in the Congo
- Sánchez and 50+ Reps Call for Transparency in Congo Critical Minerals Agreement