The race between the United States and China for control of critical mineral supply chains ran straight through the negotiation that tried to end the 50% tariff the Donald Trump administration had imposed on Brazil. A draft agreement obtained by Estadão, one of Brazil's leading newspapers, shows that Washington demanded advance knowledge of mining asset sales, critical minerals included, before any deal was concluded, and a window for US companies to compete for those assets before Brazilian regulators signed off.
American negotiators prepared the document and delivered it on October 16, 2025, during a visit to Washington by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira. It proposed a "Joint Declaration on Security and Economic Relations between the United States and Brazil" with 21 items, mostly trade and economic demands. Under the text, rare earth transactions in Brazil would have to pass US screening, and US firms would get a chance to buy assets before sales were approved. On mining, the draft read, in actions to be adopted "without delay":
"Brazil shall inform the United States of possible transfers of assets prior to a sale in the mining/critical minerals sector and provide US companies the opportunity to participate in a fair bidding process before Brazilian regulatory approval is granted"
According to Estadão, the Americans aimed at Chinese dominance in this sector, as well as on five other fronts.
What it means for Brazil
For Brazil, the demand would reach the center of the country's mining rules. Mineral wealth underground belongs to the federal Union in Brazilian law, and the National Mining Agency (ANM), a federal autarchy, controls and grants exploration rights. Telling a foreign government in advance about possible asset sales, and reserving a bidding round for US companies before Brazilian regulatory approval, would create a privilege that the sector's legislation does not provide for. The same 21-item document also sought to tie political commitments, with conditions on this year's presidential election.
The instruments of pressure
The October 2025 demand was not an isolated move. According to Poder360, Matthew Lowe, the economic counselor at the US embassy in Brasília, said on August 25, at an ExposIbram mining conference panel in Belo Horizonte, that the Lula government never answered two cooperation offers on critical minerals: an invitation made about two years ago for Brazil to join the Minerals Security Partnership, an initiative to build critical mineral supply chains, and a draft framework agreement presented in February 2026. In March, Washington signed a memorandum of understanding with the state of Goiás to cooperate in the area and is negotiating similar deals with other mining states.
Through private channels, the US already finances part of Brazil's rare earth chain. Lowe cited three projects backed in the country by the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the most important linked to Serra Verde, the company behind the Pela Ema project in Minaçu, Goiás. A day before the counselor spoke, on August 24, the US Department of Defense announced a US$ 750 million injection into a financial vehicle created to buy the miner's output. "We never received an answer. But we remain interested. Regardless of the election outcome, we will probably keep pursuing this kind of bilateral agreement," Lowe said, according to Poder360.
On the Brazilian side, the draft never reached the table in Vieira's meetings with US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. According to Itamaraty officials heard by Estadão, the foreign minister told aides to warn US negotiators beforehand that the proposal should not be presented, because it would be rejected. Brazil sent a counterproposal on November 4, 2025, and Vieira acknowledged on November 13 that it answered the American "list of topics". The Itamaraty, Brazil's foreign ministry, declined to comment on the contents of the draft; the State Department and the USTR did not respond to Estadão's requests.