US and EU agree on action plan for critical minerals

Action Plan for Critical Minerals Supply Chain Resilience

Two agreements were signed in Washington today between the US and the EU. On 4 February this year, the EU committed to concluding a memorandum of understanding on critical minerals within 30 days. However, the EU did not sign within that deadline; the agreement was signed today.

The EU's commitment came as a result of Trump's threats directed at Greenland. The EU had refused to negotiate on critical minerals since tariffs were announced and imposed by US President Donald Trump in the spring of 2025.

At the same time, the negotiations between the parties have moved further forward by agreeing on an action plan for continued negotiations. The press release states that the action plan now put in place will serve as the primary mechanism for cooperation between the US and the EU to coordinate trade policy and measures relating to critical minerals supply chains, with a view to concluding a binding plurilateral agreement on trade in such minerals.

The action plan is directly linked to the ongoing tariff war, read more about the ongoing negotiations here.

Despite the fact that negotiations have now moved a step further, it is uncertain whether this will lead to an immediate de-escalation of pressure from the Trump administration against the EU. It is possible that US will maintain the pressure against EU until a legally binding agreement is in place. Recurring political and retoric statements from European leaders keep the conflict at a high level. Last weekend, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez took the conflict to a new level, read more here.

The period between June 1st and July 24th may be decisive for the relationship between the EU and US. This is because US has established the legal basis for sanctions that, in the extreme, could lead to use of force if supply security is not guaranteed, read more here.