From arthur at citizenstrade.org Thu Jan 15 07:51:38 2026 From: arthur at citizenstrade.org (Arthur Stamoulis) Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2026 10:51:38 -0500 Subject: [CTC] USTR ordered to pursue critical minerals deals in lieu of immediate tariffs Message-ID: *USTR ordered to pursue critical minerals deals in lieu of immediate tariffs* By Brett Fortnam , Inside U.S. Trade January 14, 2026 at 5:05 PM President Trump on Wednesday ordered the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to pursue negotiations to secure U.S. access for critical minerals to mitigate what the Commerce Department calls a national security threat caused by U.S. import reliance on those minerals and their derivatives. Commerce last year launched an investigation into imports of processed critical minerals and derivative products under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The report, according to a *proclamation Trump signed on Wednesday* , was delivered to the president in October. It has not been released. ?Based on the facts considered in that investigation, which took into account the close relation of the economic welfare of the Nation to our national security and other relevant factors, ... the Secretary found and advised me of his opinion that [processed critical minerals and their derivative products] are being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States.? The administration has used Section 232 to impose tariffs on a litany of imports, including steel, aluminum, autos, lumber and others, and officials have said it is one of the tools the administration could use to replicate tariffs if the Supreme Court rules that the administration?s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the president to impose broad duties. But the critical minerals proclamation notably does not impose tariffs on any critical minerals. It does, however, suggest such tariffs could be implemented if the U.S. cannot reach critical minerals deals with its trading partners. ?The Secretary and the Trade Representative, and any other senior executive branch officials they deem appropriate, shall jointly pursue negotiation of agreements to address the threatened impairment of the national security with respect to imports of PCMDPs from any country,? it reads. ?In negotiating, the Secretary and the Trade Representative should consider price floors for trade in critical minerals and other trade-restricting measures.? The proclamation notes that the Section 232 statute authorizes the president to negotiate with foreign trade partners agreements that adjust imports to address national security threats and suggests action could be taken if such deals are not reached within six months. ?[T]he president may also take other actions he deems necessary to adjust imports and eliminate the threat to the national security, including if such an agreement is not entered into within 180 days of the date of this proclamation or is not being carried out or is ineffective,? it says. The Commerce secretary and the USTR are to update the president on the status of negotiations within 180 days, per the proclamation. The administration has *struck broad critical minerals agreements* with some trading partners, including Japan, Australia, Malaysia and Thailand. Commerce, it said, has ?found that the United States is too reliant on foreign sources of PCMDPs, lacks access to a sufficiently secure and reliable supply chain to PCMDPs, is experiencing unsustainable price volatility with respect to critical mineral markets, and is suffering from weakened domestic manufacturing and production capacity of PCMDPs.? It also found that ?these circumstances are a significant national security vulnerability that could be exploited by foreign actors; weaken the industrial resilience of the United States; expose the American people to supply chain disruptions, economic instability, and strategic vulnerabilities; and jeopardize the United States? ability to meet demands for PCMDPs that are essential to its national defense and critical infrastructure.? The U.S. is 100 percent import-reliant for 12 critical minerals, it adds, and ?50 percent or greater net-import reliant for a further 29 critical minerals. Even where the United States has domestic mining capacity, such as for cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements, the United States lacks the domestic processing capacity to avoid downstream net-import reliance.? The U.S. also has limited processing capacity, it continues. Accordingly, the country is ?too entirely reliant on imports of rare earth permanent magnets to meet commercial demand, and United States production currently meets only a fraction of defense needs. Mining a mineral domestically does not safeguard the national security of the United States if the United States remains dependent on a foreign country for the processing of that mineral.? ?In addition, the Secretary found that the United States lacks access to a sufficiently secure and reliable supply chain for PCMDPs,? it says. ?Even with respect to the minerals for which the United States has only partial import reliance, supply disruptions can still expose important sectors ? such as defense, aerospace, telecommunications, and transportation ? to serious risk.? ? *Brett Fortnam *(*bfortnam at iwpnews.com* ) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From arthur at citizenstrade.org Thu Jan 15 14:05:40 2026 From: arthur at citizenstrade.org (Arthur Stamoulis) Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2026 17:05:40 -0500 Subject: [CTC] =?utf-8?q?Workers_Must_Come_First_in_CUSMA_=E2=80=94_No_Tr?= =?utf-8?q?ade_Deal_at_the_Expense_of_Jobs=2C_Industry=2C_or_Public?= =?utf-8?q?_Services?= Message-ID: *Our Canadian friends on the USMCA renegotiation...* https://canadianlabour.ca/workers-must-come-first-in-cusma-no-trade-deal-at-the-expense-of-jobs-industry-or-public-services/ Workers Must Come First in CUSMA ? No Trade Deal at the Expense of Jobs, Industry, or Public Services OTTAWA ? Today, Canada?s unions met Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy, for a high-level Roundtable on the upcoming 2026 review of the Canada-United States Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) to deliver a clear and urgent message: workers must come first. Canadian Labour Congress President Bea Bruske was joined by leaders from several of Canada?s largest manufacturing and building trades unions representing workers whose jobs, communities, and futures depend directly on trade and industrial policy decisions. With renewed U.S. tariff threats and growing trade instability, unions warned the federal government against repeating the mistakes of the past: trading away domestic production, good union jobs, and industrial capacity in pursuit of an agreement at any cost. ?Any deal that undermines Canadian jobs or weakens Canada?s ability to build its own economy would be worse than no deal at all,? said Bruske. ?The United States has increasingly abandoned the rules-based trading system, using trade pressure to weaken workers, destabilize supply chains, and advantage corporations. Canada must respond from a position of strength, not concession, and refuse to sacrifice workers to appease U.S. demands.? The CLC is urging the federal government to remain laser-focused on a workers-first trade policy that preserves and expands Canadian jobs, strengthens domestic industry, and regulatory space to invest in domestic manufacturing, supply-chain resilience, and future industries. Canada continues to bleed production and jobs due to U.S. sectoral tariffs on auto, softwood lumber, and other industries, with widening impacts on communities and local economies. The government must urgently work to have these tariffs removed. At the negotiating table, Canada must defend its right to pursue active industrial policy, enforce strong labour protections, and expand domestic value-added production. Trade rules must not be used to undermine workers? rights, public services, industrial development, or fair wages. Unions also pressed for a strong, enforceable labour chapter in any renewed agreement, including expanded use of the Rapid Response Mechanism to hold employers accountable for labour rights violations across North America. The message from labour was unified and unequivocal: the CUSMA review must strengthen Canadian industries and working-class communities, not hollow them out. The government must engage with unions and bring them into the trade negotiations; unions know their industries better than anyone else. Workers do not want the government trading away their jobs, livelihoods, or economic future just to renew a flawed deal. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From arthur at citizenstrade.org Thu Jan 29 12:22:21 2026 From: arthur at citizenstrade.org (Arthur Stamoulis) Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2026 15:22:21 -0500 Subject: [CTC] Critical Minerals Draft Framework Agreement (attached) Message-ID: Politico Pro *LOCKING IN ON MINERALS:* The Trump administration is circulating a draft framework agreement for cooperation on critical mineral sourcing and processing among countries invited to attend the State Department?s inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington next week. *Why it matters: *The draft document ? which would be nonbinding for signatories ? represents the latest administration initiative to loosen China?s global chokehold on critical minerals and rare earths. And the State Department is asking dozens of countries invited to the Feb. 4 meeting to commit to signing the framework. *What?s in it:* The language in the document mirrors that of critical mineral framework agreements that the administration struck with Australia and Japan last year. It provides the template to ensure the U.S. has access to critical minerals through standards for government and private investment in areas including mining, processing and recycling to price guarantees to protect producers from competitors? unfair trade policies. *Big picture:* The Trump administration?s efforts on critical minerals are wide-ranging and have included the State Department?s Pax Silica Declaration unveiled in December and Trump?s executive order this month directing the Commerce and Treasury departments to negotiate trade deals to reduce ?the threatened impairment of national security? linked to reliance on China for those materials. *What?s next: *The agreement commits framework signatories to provide details of their efforts to comply with the framework?s objectives within six months. That includes ?measures to provide significant amounts in financing to projects located in each country,? the document said. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: state-department-template-for-a-framework-agreement-on-cooperation-on-critical-minerals-sourcing-and-processing.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 44411 bytes Desc: not available URL: From arthur at citizenstrade.org Thu Jan 29 12:22:48 2026 From: arthur at citizenstrade.org (Arthur Stamoulis) Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2026 15:22:48 -0500 Subject: [CTC] USTR: Ambassador Greer Signs the U.S.-El Salvador Agreement on Reciprocal Trade Message-ID: *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE* *Ambassador Greer Signs the U.S.-El Salvador Agreement on Reciprocal Trade* January 29, 2026 *WASHINGTON ? *Today, United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer joined El Salvador?s Minister of Economy Mar?a Luisa Hayem in signing the U.S.-El Salvador Agreement on Reciprocal Trade. ?President Trump?s vision is building a new trade order for partnership and prosperity in Latin America, further advancing the economic and national security interests of the American people,? said*Ambassador Greer*. ?Today?s signing of the first Agreement on Reciprocal Trade in the Western Hemisphere will further strengthen markets for U.S. exports and lower trade barriers facing American workers and producers. This Agreement is an important step in the deepening of our strategic partnerships in Latin America, and I want to thank my counterparts from El Salvador for their strong commitment to achieving fair and balanced trade with the United States. This Agreement builds on our longstanding trade partnership and recognizes important supply chain linkages.? To read the text of the Agreement between the United States of America and El Salvador on Reciprocal Trade, click *here * . To read the Joint Statement on Framework for United States-El Salvador Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, click *here * . To read the Fact Sheet, click *here * . -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From arthur at citizenstrade.org Fri Jan 30 08:29:08 2026 From: arthur at citizenstrade.org (Arthur Stamoulis) Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2026 11:29:08 -0500 Subject: [CTC] GTW: Trade Deals With Guatemala, El Salvador Are Gifts for Tech CEOs Message-ID: Please share / por favor comp?rtelo: *X * /* BSKY * /* Threads * /* IG * /* FB * Trade Deals With Guatemala, El Salvador Are Gifts for Tech CEOs For Immediate Release: January 30, 2026 Contact: Omar Baddar, obaddar at citizen.org *en espa?ol a continuaci?n* Washington, D.C. ? Today, the Trump administration released a new ?Agreement on Reciprocal Trade? (ART) with Guatemala , following the nearly identical one released yesterday with El Salvador . These are the latest agreements finalized in response to the so-called reciprocal tariffs that Trump announced on ?Liberation Day? and that have been challenged all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In response, *Melinda St Louis, Global Trade Watch Director at Public Citizen, issued the following statement:* ?Here we go again. Trump?s latest deals with El Salvador and Guatemala are packed with giveaways for Big Tech CEOs, who want to impede any and all future laws that might hold them accountable. As we?ve seen with the trade deals with Cambodia and Malaysia , these Latin American deals contain a number of handouts to Big Tech and other corporate interests." Under the agreements, El Salvador and Guatemala will be: - Barred from implementing taxes on digital services being provided within its borders or customs duties on electronic transmissions, thereby denying the countries a legitimate source of revenue and helping Big Tech companies to avoid paying their fair share. - Restricted from reviewing algorithms or source code before they are released to the public, which will limit efforts to enhance transparency and accountability of software and AI systems. - Restrained from implementing digital competition, platform accountability or online safety regulations that could be (mis)construed to discriminate against U.S. tech giants. In return, the U.S. agrees to remove tariffs on select goods, especially items not made or grown here. This is something that Trump has been feeling domestic pressure to do anyway and that the Supreme Court may soon mandate. The agreement also specifically says the U.S. is permitted to raise tariffs again for nearly any reason. Overall, these agreements provide further evidence of the Trump administration carrying water for Big Tech , through its trade agenda , recent trade negotiations , and its domestic deregulatory policies .? *Los acuerdos comerciales con Guatemala y El Salvador son regalos para las grandes empresas tecnol?gicas* Washington, D.C. ? Hoy, la administraci?n Trump public? un nuevo ?Acuerdo sobre Comercio Rec?proco? (ART) con Guatemala , despu?s del anuncio ayer de un acuerdo similar con El Salvador . Estos son los ?ltimos acuerdos que se finalizan en respuesta a los aranceles rec?procos que Trump anunci? en el ?D?a de la Liberaci?n? y que han sido impugnados incluso ante la Corte Suprema de EEUU. *En respuesta, Melinda St Louis, directora de Global Trade Watch en Public Citizen, emiti? la siguiente declaraci?n:* ?Aqu? vamos de nuevo. Estos acuerdos de Trump con El Salvador y Guatemala est?n repletos de regalos para las grandes empresas tecnol?gicas, quienes buscan impedir cualquier ley futura que pueda exigirles responsabilidades. Como ya vimos con los acuerdos comerciales con Camboya y Malasia , estos acuerdos incluyen numerosas ventajas para las grandes empresas tecnol?gicas y otros intereses corporativos.? Seg?n los acuerdos, El Salvador y Guatemala compromete a varias prohibiciones regulatorias: - Se le proh?be implementar impuestos sobre los servicios digitales prestados dentro de sus fronteras o aranceles aduaneros sobre las transmisiones electr?nicas, lo que priva al pa?s de una fuente leg?tima de ingresos y permite que las grandes empresas tecnol?gicas eviten pagar lo que les corresponde. - Se le impide revisar los algoritmos o el c?digo fuente antes de su lanzamiento al p?blico, lo que limitar? los esfuerzos para mejorar la transparencia y la rendici?n de cuentas de los sistemas de software e inteligencia artificial. - Se le restringe la implementaci?n de regulaciones sobre competencia digital, responsabilidad de las plataformas o seguridad en l?nea que podr?an interpretarse (err?neamente) como discriminatorias contra los gigantes tecnol?gicos estadounidenses. A cambio, los EEUU acepta eliminar los aranceles sobre determinados productos, especialmente aquellos que no se fabrican ni se cultivan en el pa?s. Esta es una medida que Trump ya estaba considerando debido a la presi?n interna y que la Corte Suprema podr?a anular pr?ximamente. El acuerdo tambi?n estipula expl?citamente que EEUU podr? volver a imponer aranceles por pr?cticamente cualquier motivo. En definitiva, este acuerdo es otro ejemplo flagrante de c?mo la administraci?n Trumpfavorece a las grandes empresas tecnol?gicas a trav?s de su agenda comercial , las recientes negociaciones comerciales y sus pol?ticas de desregulaci?n interna . *View our **press releases **, **press contacts **, and **experts **.* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: