New trade czar gets broad power to restrict mineral imports—with minimal oversight
H.R. 6659 — Critical Minerals Trade Security Act · Filed by Tim Moore (R-NC) · 5 cosponsors · Introduced Dec 11, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill creates a new federal position—the Chief Critical Minerals Negotiator—within the U.S. Trade Representative's office to conduct trade negotiations and enforce agreements protecting U.S. access to critical minerals (rare earths, etc.) used in defense, energy, and infrastructure. The negotiator must annually report to Congress on foreign trade practices that threaten U.S. mineral supply chains and propose responses, including potential trade actions.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to establish a new negotiating position and reporting framework focused on critical minerals trade. While framed as national security, it is fundamentally a delegation of trade authority to a new executive officer with discretion to identify vulnerabilities and propose responses.
What the text implies
- The bill grants the Chief Critical Minerals Negotiator broad discretion to define 'supply chain vulnerability' without statutory criteria, potentially enabling protectionist tariffs or trade restrictions that could increase costs for manufacturers and consumers reliant on critical minerals.
- Annual reporting requirement creates a public accountability mechanism, but the 30-day response plan deadline may incentivize rapid, aggressive trade actions without full interagency deliberation or public comment.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
U.S. critical minerals mining companies (rare earth, uranium, lithium producers); Defense contractors dependent on secure critical minerals supply; Domestic mineral processing and refining firms