Is Norway ready for mineral negotiations with Trump?
Prime Minister Store and Finance Minister Stoltenberg meet the American president in Washington on Thursday. While the Norwegian press focuses on diplomacy and tariffs, it is likely that the meeting is in reality about Trump wanting a trade agreement covering Norwegian minerals and American weapons.
April 22, 2025
Image by AI/S&P
Sought-after mineral resources
Norway sells minerals to the US worth around 6 billion kroner a year. The mineral industry is not of great importance to Norwegian trade and welfare right now, but it will be in the future. Last year, large deposits of rare minerals were found at the Fen Field in Telemark, and deposits have also been found on the seabed and elsewhere. Minerals will become Norway's next great industrial adventure.
In September last year, a declaration of cooperation on mineral development was concluded between the US and Norway, which so far has resulted in a minerals report published on January 14 this year. The aim, put simply, is for the two countries to work together to create a sustainable mineral market capable of withstanding market forces from China and other low-cost countries.
On March 28 the government presented a proposal for a new minerals act, and at the same time it announced that it is working to bring Norway into the EU regulation CRMA without this having been put before the Parliament. The EU wants access to Norway's valuable mineral resources.
So far the significance of Norwegian minerals has gone under the radar of Norwegian journalists; no one has asked Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store or Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg whether they are preparing for mineral negotiations with the American president when they meet him in Washington on Thursday.
Minerals create conflict
On February 27 this year, Ukrainian President Zelensky was thrown out of the White House because he would not sign a minerals agreement with the US. Zelensky demanded military security in return, which Trump was unwilling to give. Since then the US has attempted to broker a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, and Russia has moreover offered the US minerals, including from occupied areas of Ukraine.
Last Thursday Ukraine signed a letter of intent as the first step towards the minerals agreement with the US. The main features of the agreement are said to be that the US invests in Ukrainian mineral extraction in return for 50% of the revenues. It is unclear whether and how the agreement meets Zelensky's demand for military security. The agreement is expected to be signed in full before Store and Stoltenberg meet Trump on Thursday.
It is not Norwegian diplomatic skills Trump is after
Store and Stoltenberg have claimed that Norway will be left at the back of the queue in negotiations with Trump, but Society and Politics has pointed out in earlier articles that Norwegian resources are in such demand that this cannot be the case; read more. That Norway is getting a meeting with Trump already at this point suggests that Norway holds very strong negotiating cards not only towards the US, but towards the EU as well. Mineral resources are the most sought-after commodity in the ongoing geopolitical power struggle.
It is therefore not the diplomatic abilities of Store and Stoltenberg that have got them to the White House, as the Norwegian press naively reports. It is down to Norwegian mineral resources, Svalbard and the strategic location in the North Atlantic.
Store has promised Trump critical minerals
Jonas Gahr Store himself wrote the following in his letter of congratulation to Donald Trump when he was re-elected president in November: "Being one of the largest suppliers of critical minerals to the U.S. with the largest proven deposit of rare earth elements in Europe, Norway is committed to deliver sustainable and secure supply chains for advanced US manufacturing."
In addition to the cooperation agreement already concluded, the American president thus has a legitimate reason to expect Norwegian mineral deliveries.
Just how diplomatic the abilities of Store and Stoltenberg really are will only become clear once we know what the American president wants, and what that means for Norway.
Military security
Into this picture we must factor in that the EU is competing with the US for our resources. As Society and Politics has written before, this may come to be about military security. The EU is not capable of defending Norway, and the country is squeezed between Russia on one side and the US on the other — with Trump seeking a friendly relationship with Russia.
We must further take into account that documents have been leaked from the US indicating that it is considering cutting support for NATO from 2026. It will take a very long time before the EU has sufficient defense capability, if it ever gets there. Have Store and Stoltenberg allowed for every eventuality in what, by their own account, are "close" talks with the EU?
Much can happen before Thursday. Among other things, it will matter whether the minerals agreement with Ukraine is signed and what it says, if anything, about military security. It will be an interesting week.
SOURCES
The Norwegian Government
U.S.-Norway Memorandum of Cooperation: High Standard, Market-Oriented Trade of Critical MineralsThe Norwegian Government
Press release 14 January 2025The Norwegian Government
U.S.-Norway Critical Minerals ReportThe Norwegian Government
Proposal for a new Minerals ActThe Norwegian Government
Press release on incorporation of the EU CRMAThe Norwegian Government
Store's letter of congratulation to Trump
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