Trump Administration's Foreign Mineral and Oil Deals Face Legal Scrutiny and Historical Precedent of Failure
President Trump's administration has pursued agreements to control critical minerals and oil abroad, notably in Venezuela and Brazil, with the stated goals of securing supplies for the U.S. economy at low prices and potentially denying these resources to China. In Venezuela, an oil deal grants the U.S. access to approximately 20% of proven oil reserves, secured through a government perceived as beholden to President Trump. In Brazil, USA Rare Earth, a company partly owned by the U.S. government and funded by a U.S. government investment vehicle, acquired Serra Verde, a significant producer of critical minerals. This acquisition was made despite attempts by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to block it, though Lula has since fast-tracked legislation to establish new rules for critical mineral projects. Both deals involve the Pentagon, utilizing industrial-policy mechanisms like the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) program and the Office of Strategic Capital, to take equity-like st...
