US gets right to decide who will buy Ukrainian resources – White House

The rule will apply to new mining licenses.

As part of the agreement on Ukrainian minerals, the United States received the right of priority purchase of Ukrainian resources, or determination of a buyer for them, the White House press service reported .

The Americans place special emphasis on the fact that the “historic agreement” signed yesterday launched a “partnership for the reconstruction and long-term economic success of Ukraine.”

In a few paragraphs, the White House retells the essence of the agreement, saying basically the same thing that was previously stated by the Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko. However, the White House press release includes a clause that the Ukrainian government has not publicly emphasized – the priority right of the United States to purchase Ukrainian natural resources.

“Should the United States decide to acquire these resources for itself, we will be given the first choice: either acquire them or identify a buyer of our choice. This important safeguard prevents critical resources from falling into the wrong hands,” the statement said.

The full text of the agreement has already been published on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine , which indeed states that all new licenses for the extraction of Ukrainian minerals must contain a clause obliging the license holder to sell the extracted resource to the United States if they show interest in doing so. However, it is indicated that the sale will be carried out on market terms. The text of the agreement also contains a clause stating that new licenses may have certain restrictions on the sale of resources to other counterparties. However, the text of the agreement published by the Cabinet of Ministers does not say anything about the right of the United States to determine a specific buyer for Ukrainian resources.

Paragraphs on the right of the US to purchase Ukrainian resources / screenshot from the Cabinet of Ministers website

Minerals Agreement with the US

As UNIAN reported, on the night of May 1, Ukraine and the United States signed an agreement on joint investments in the extraction of Ukrainian minerals. Immediately after that, Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who was the main negotiator for Ukraine and signed the agreement, published a Facebook post in which she outlined the key points of the agreement .

According to her, the Ukrainian state retains full ownership and control over the subsoil and determines where and what will be extracted. An investment fund is being created, which the US and Ukraine will own 50/50, and neither party will have a casting vote.

The agreement does not impose any new debts on Ukraine, but the fund will receive 50% of the funds from all new licenses for the extraction of Ukrainian minerals from a specified list. The fund will reinvest these funds in new projects on the territory of Ukraine. It is not specified how the United States will contribute its share to the fund, although it is indicated that the new military aid may be counted as a contribution from the American side. The Fund’s income and contributions are not taxed in either the United States or Ukraine.

According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the signed document is a fair agreement , which in its current form looks much better than what the United States offered earlier.

(c)UNIAN 2025