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Trump's Critical Minerals Foreign Policy; Pursuing Peace on the Waterfront By Paul Berger

A feud between President Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky shows how U.S. foreign policy is increasingly dictated by critical minerals supply chains.

The WSJ's Matthew Luxmoore, Jane Lytvynenko and Alan Cullison report that the Trump administration is nearing a deal with Ukraine that would give the U.S. access to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of mineral deposits as repayment for military and financial aid during the war.

Ukraine is believed to have deposits of at least 20 of the 50 minerals the U.S. considers critical , the WSJ's Ian Lovett writes. These include lithium, graphite, titanium, uranium and rare earths that are essential for everything from cellphones to the defense industry.

Finding the minerals won't be easy. One Ukrainian lithium miner, UkrLithiumMining, estimates it will spend more than $350 million conducting studies and building mining and processing facilities.

Trump has expressed interest in Ukraine's rare-earth elements as he seeks to shore up U.S. supply from sources outside of China, which dominates the market. Greenland, which Trump has mulled seizing by force, also has some of the world's largest deposits of rare earths.

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Economy & Trade

Unionized dockworkers will vote this week on a labor contract that retailers and manufacturers hope will secure peace on the waterfront through September 2030, banishing fears of a repeat of a three-day strike in October that hobbled U.S. trade. The WSJ Logistics Report writes that workers are widely expected to ratify the new contract on Tuesday , which International Longshoremen's Association leaders are heralding as a "historic" win with a 62% pay increase and "full protection against automation" across East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.

Some port employers are privately heralding the deal too. They say that although the contract gives workers a larger-than-anticipated pay raise, it also allows companies to more quickly implement technologies that will boost efficiency and blunt some of the cost of the wage increase. For example, the contract allows employers to introduce some remote-operated cranes, which employers say saves time that workers otherwise spend climbing into and out of equipment.

Russia is building a port in Myanmar. (Reuters) The former CEO at New Zealand's Ports of Auckland was fined $110,000 for the death of a dockworker. (The Maritime Executive) Number of the Day Quotable In Other News

A measure of U.S. consumer confidence fell on fears of tariffs and inflation . (WSJ)

Canada retail sales fell in January. (WSJ)

The eurozone economy flatlined in February , according to business surveys. (WSJ)

U.K. retail sales rose for the first time in five months. (WSJ)

Oil-and-gas companies and renewable-energy groups are teaming up to save a Biden-era tax incentive to produce green hydrogen . (WSJ)

The Food and Drug Administration declared that a shortage of Novo Nordisk's weight-loss medications Wegovy and Ozempic is over. (WSJ)

China's Contemporary Amperex Technology will collaborate with Volkswagen on electric-vehicle batteries and other auto parts. (WSJ)

Chinese navy vessels drew complaints for carrying out exercises off Australia's eastern coast. (WSJ)

The Trump administration is proposing fees on Chinese-built ships and mandates requiring a portion of U.S. products be moved on American vessels. (Bloomberg)

Mediterranean Shipping ordered four LNG dual-fuel megamax containerships from China's Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard. (Splash 247)

Ocean carriers are cutting peak season surcharges on routes from Asia to the U.S. amid weakening demand. (Journal of Commerce)

Erratic U.S. foreign policy has discouraged oil traders from signing long-term charter contracts for tankers. (Financial Times)

Italian authorities launched a terrorism probe into explosions that damaged an oil tanker off Northern Italy. (Marine Insight)

The U.S. Navy fired the master of an aircraft carrier that collided with a Turkish bulker in the Suez Canal. (TradeWinds)

Expeditors International CEO Jeffrey Musser is retiring . (Air Cargo News)

Chinese sellers on Temu are misappropriating the details of U.K. companies to dodge tax , according to an investigation. (The Sunday Times)

About Us

Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team: @bylizyoung and @pdberger . Follow the WSJ Logistics Report on X at @WSJLogistics .

This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 24, 2025 07:10 ET (12:10 GMT)

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