Information Request Regarding Plurilateral Trade Agreement on Critical Minerals

Information Request Regarding Plurilateral Trade Agreement on Critical Minerals

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment request views from companies and interest groups concerning potential plurilateral trade agreement negotiations on critical minerals.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment request views from companies and interest groups concerning potential plurilateral trade agreement negotiations on critical minerals.

The objective in the negotiations is to improve the production, refining, and processing of critical minerals, and the resilience of the supply chains of user industries. Different methods to achieve these objectives are being considered as part of the negotiations, including the introduction of different price mechanisms such as a minimum price or price floor mechanism.

Price floor mechanism means setting a minimum price for a product so that the market price cannot fall below a certain level. It can be applied, for example, to critical minerals to stabilize markets and protect new projects against price manipulation.

The EU, the United States, and Japan issued a joint statement on 4 February 2026 where they agreed to explore a plurilateral trade initiative with like-minded partners on trade in critical minerals.On 26 February, the United States launched its own consultation on strenghening the resilience of critical minerals supply chains and on how a price mechanism should be implemented. The European Union is conducting its own work to determine the best way to proceed. Finland is gathering views on the initiative as part of this work.

Please respond to the questionnaire by 31 March 2026 here. Information may also be submitted after the deadline, in which case it will be taken into account, but it will impact Finland's position to a lesser degree.