[CTC] Sánchez, colleagues call for transparency in Congo critical minerals agreement

[Arthur Stamoulis]

https://lindasanchez.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/sanchez-colleagues-call-transparency-congo-critical-minerals-agreement

Sánchez, colleagues call for transparency in Congo critical minerals
agreement
August 11, 2025
Press Release <https://lindasanchez.house.gov/media-center/press-releases>

*WASHINGTON *– Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Linda T.
Sánchez (D-Calif.) and 51 of her Democratic colleagues called on President
Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio
<https://lindasanchez.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/lindasanchez.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2028.08.08-congo-critical-minerals-letter.pdf>
 to address serious concerns over the administration’s secretive
negotiations with the Democratic Republic of Congo regarding a potential
critical minerals agreement.

The members criticized the lack of congressional consultation and
transparency in the process and highlighted alarming reports of human
rights abuses and environmental degradation linked to mining operations in
the DRC. They also raised concerns over a conflict of interest involving
one of President Trump’s political allies who is negotiating for rights to
the Rubaya coltan mine.

“Given the gravity of these issues, we urge your administration to develop
a transparent and participatory process for critical minerals negotiations
between the U.S. and the DRC,” *the members wrote.* “This process must
provide opportunities for informed input and meaningful engagement with
Congress and all stakeholders, especially the communities most affected by
mining and conflict in the region.”

In addition to Ranking Member Sánchez, the letter was signed by
Representatives Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Don Beyer (D-Va.), Brendan Boyle
(D-Pa.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Greg Casar
(D-Texas), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Sheila
Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.),
Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Mark
DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.),
Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.),
Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.),
Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), John
Larson (D-Conn.), Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.), Betty
McCollum (D-Minn.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Kweisi
Mfume (D-Md.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Eleanor Holmes
Norton (D-D.C.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Johnny Olszewski
(D-Md.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Mike Quigley
(D-Ill.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Terri Sewell
(D-Ala.), Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Darren Soto
(D-Fla.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Dina Titus
(D-Nev.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).

Full text of the letter is available here
<https://lindasanchez.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/lindasanchez.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2028.08.08-congo-critical-minerals-letter.pdf>
 and follows:

August 8, 2025

The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington, DC 20520

The Honorable Marco Rubio
Secretary of State
United States Department of State
Washington, DC 20520

Dear President Trump and Secretary Rubio,

We understand that the United States is negotiating a critical minerals
agreement with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Your administration,
however, has not consulted with Congress on such an agreement nor shared
meaningful information about it with the public. As Members of Congress, we
are deeply concerned with your administration’s failure to consult Congress
and the lack of transparency, especially given the dire security, human
rights, labor, and environmental situation associated with mineral mining
in the DRC.

Mining in the DRC remains one of the most exploitative and dangerous
industries in the world, with ongoing human rights abuses, such as child
labor, forced labor, and the routine violation of workers’ rights. Over 7.8
million people have been forcibly displaced, while at least 7,000 civilians
have been killed and thousands more subjected to sexual violence in areas
linked to mining operations. Of the estimated 350,000 cobalt miners in the
country, 80,000 work under forced labor conditions that are
life-threatening, with no protection and no alternatives. An estimated
40,000 children, some as young as seven, are working in these harsh
conditions.

People in the DRC’s mining regions face exposure to harmful chemicals,
pollution, and contaminated water. Toxic chemicals near artisanal mines
have contaminated the surrounding water and land, reducing soil fertility,
harming local agricultural production, and negatively impacting development
outcomes in the DRC. Contamination of food, land, and water caused by
mining has led to long-term public health consequences, including increased
rates of maternal and infant mortality, birth defects in children, cancer,
and increased risks of infection. Mining for critical minerals must not
come at the expense of the DRC's people, their land, and their development
prospects.

We are also concerned by the apparent conflict of interest in the
negotiations between this administration and the DRC. According to media
reports, one of your political associates, Gentry Beach, is part of a
consortium negotiating for rights to the Rubaya coltan mine, a notorious
source of conflict minerals. This mine is central to the trade in smuggled
coltan used in financing the conflict in the DRC, one of the
longest-running and deadliest wars in sub-Saharan Africa.

Given the gravity of these issues, we urge your administration to develop a
transparent and participatory process for critical minerals negotiations
between the U.S. and the DRC. This process must provide opportunities for
informed input and meaningful engagement with Congress and all
stakeholders, especially the communities most affected by mining and
conflict in the region.

Ahead of any visit to Washington, D.C. by a delegation of government
officials from the DRC, we look forward to a response to this letter and a
briefing to update Members of Congress on the progress of a critical
minerals agreement.

Sincerely,

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