Trump threatens to disrupt the world’s critical minerals supply – but there are reasons to be positive

By Jorge Valverde, PhD Fellow, Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT), United Nations University
Carlo Pietrobelli, Professor of Economics, Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT), United Nations University

There’s a chance Donald Trump’s second term as US president could have a long-term negative impact on the demand for and supply of what are known as critical minerals. These include copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and the “rare earth elements”, such as lanthanum and yttrium.

They are vital for the green energy transition, being used in electric car batteries, solar panels and wind turbines. Trump’s decision to pull out of the UN’s Paris agreement to control global…

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