Critical minerals—essential to clean energy technologies and national defense—are at the center of a new U.S. trade initiative. ANSI has formally responded to a USTR Request for Comments (RFC) aimed at developing a plurilateral agreement to strengthen critical mineral supply chains and the industries that depend on them.
The RFC, published in the February 26 Federal Register, sought input on price mechanisms that would enable investment and adequate financial returns in the mining, processing, and refining of critical minerals. The RFC asked whether any specific regulatory requirements or standards would need to be addressed in a plurilateral agreement to stabilize markets for critical minerals.
Read ANSI's full response to the USTR.
As coordinator of the U.S. standardization system and official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization, ANSI’s response emphasizes that it has a direct stake in—and concrete contributions to make to—the standards dimensions of an agreement. The Institute’s comments focus on how internationally recognized standards and conformity assessment can serve as foundational tools for resilient, high-integrity critical mineral supply chains, and urge explicit standards-related provisions in a plurilateral agreement.
“ANSI stands ready to support implementation of a plurilateral agreement in several concrete ways,” reads ANSI’s submitted response. “We have a demonstrated track record of organizing workshops and private-sector-led delegations to address non-tariff barriers, promoting standards adoption in partner and emerging-economy markets, and supporting the conditions for U.S. industry to compete on a level playing field internationally. Through public-private partnerships, ANSI engages with producer countries on standards development, trade, infrastructure, and regulatory alignment.”
Get Involved: U.S. ISO Critical Minerals Standards Coordination Group (ICMSCG)
The U.S. ISO Critical Minerals Standards Coordination Group (ICMSCG) serves as a collaborative forum for U.S. stakeholders to exchange information, coordinate engagement, and align strategically on ISO activities related to critical minerals.
Formally launched in October 2025, the ICMSCG membership is limited to members of the U.S. Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs) in the relevant ISO committees. Find out how to get involved.
