By Kim Mackrael
BRUSSELS--The U.S. is close to a deal with the European Union that could set a minimum price for critical minerals in the two economies, the U.S. ambassador to the EU said Monday.
The Trump administration last month called for a "preferential trade zone" for critical minerals, which officials said could be maintained through price floors and tariffs. The aim is to incentivize Western companies to invest in critical minerals and prevent China--which dominates the sector--from flooding the market with cheap products.
"The important part of the critical-minerals deal is that the United States, the European Union and our other allies . . . kind of ringfence our economies and get a price floor on these minerals," Andrew Puzder said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
A critical-minerals agreement is one example of how the U.S. and EU can work together on economic issues beyond last summer's trade agreement, Puzder said. He said other measures could include a deal on artificial-intelligence semiconductors and joining forces to address economic coercion by other countries.
The European Parliament is expected to vote this week on whether to push forward legislation to lower the bloc's tariffs on U.S. industrial goods, part of a deal the two sides reached last summer. That agreement also set a 15% tariff on most EU exports to the U.S.
Lawmakers temporarily paused work on the legislation earlier this year after President Trump threatened new tariffs as he sought to pressure Denmark to sell Greenland. Trump later revoked the threat.
Puzder said he is optimistic that European lawmakers will vote in favor of the legislation. If they do, the next step would involve negotiations among the EU's parliament, member countries and the bloc's executive arm to determine the final text of the legislation.
"I think the feelings of animosity on both sides of the Atlantic will decline as our relationship goes forward economically," Puzder said.
Write to Kim Mackrael at kim.mackrael@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2026 14:49 ET (18:49 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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