Ukraine And US Sign Mineral Agreement

The key provisions of the historic treaty.

Ukraine and the United States of America have signed an agreement on economic cooperation ("subsoil agreement"). First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Sviridenko and the head of the US Department of Finance Scott Bessent put their signatures on it.

This is reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Sviridenko's Facebook page.

"Together with the US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent signed the Agreement on the creation of the Investment Fund for US-Ukraine recovery," she said.

Sviridenko also explained what this agreement provides for:

"Together with the United States, we will create an Investment Fund for the recovery of Ukraine, which will attract global investment in our state," the official said in the publication.

In addition, she outlined the key provisions of the agreement:

Full ownership and control remain with Ukraine

All resources on our territory and territorial waters belong to Ukraine. It is the Ukrainian state that determines where and what to extract. The subsoil remains in Ukrainian ownership - this is enshrined in the agreement.

Equal partnership

Fund is created 50/50. We will administer this Fund jointly with the United States. Neither side will prevail, and this will reflect an equal partnership between Ukraine and the United States.

National property is protected

The agreement does not provide for changes in the privatization or management of state-owned companies - they will continue to be owned by Ukraine. Companies such as Ukrnafta or Energoatom remain state-owned.

No debt

The agreement does not mention any debt Ukraine owes to the United States. The implementation of the agreement will allow both countries to increase their economic potential through equal cooperation and investment.

The agreement is consistent with the Constitution and does not change the European integration course

The document is consistent with national legislation and does not contradict Ukraine's international obligations. It is important that the agreement will be a signal to other global players that it is reliable to cooperate with Ukraine in the long term - for decades.

The Fund will be filled with revenues exclusively from new licenses

It is about 50% of new licenses for projects in the field of critical materials and oil and gas, which will go to the budget after the creation of the Fund. Revenues from projects already started or budgeted revenues are not included in the Fund. The agreement talks about further strategic cooperation.

Legislative changes - only point

For the operation of the Fund provides only amendments to the Budget Code. The Agreement itself must be ratified by the Verkhovna Rada.

The Fund is supported by the U.S. government through the DFC agency, which will help us attract investment and technology from foundations and companies in the U.S., as well as in the EU and other countries that support our fight against the Russian enemy. Technology transfer and development is an important component of the Agreement, because we need not only investment, but also innovation.

The Agreement provides tax guarantees

The Fund's income and contributions are not taxed in either the U.S. or Ukraine to ensure that the investment yields the greatest results.

The Fund's Work

Sviridenko also explained how the Fund will work. According to her, the U.S. contributes to the Fund, and in addition to direct funds, it "can also make it NEW aid - for example, air defense systems for Ukraine."

"Ukraine contributes 50% of state budget revenues from NEW rents on NEW licenses for new areas. Ukraine may also make additional contributions beyond this basic one if it deems it necessary. We are talking about cooperation for decades to come," she said.

The fund invests in mining and oil and gas projects, as well as in related infrastructure or processing. The specific investment projects on which the funds will be focused will be determined jointly by Ukraine and the United States. Importantly,

The fund may invest exclusively in Ukraine

"We expect that for the first 10 years the profits and income of the fund are not distributed, but may only be invested in Ukraine - in new projects or rehabilitation. These conditions will be discussed further," Sviridenko said.

So, the Ukrainian side formed a version of the agreement that "provides for mutually beneficial conditions for both states."

"This is an agreement in which the United States notes its commitment to promoting long-term peace in Ukraine and recognizes the contribution Ukraine has made to global security by renouncing its nuclear arsenal. An agreement in which the United States notes its commitment to Ukrainian security, recovery and reconstruction," Sviridenko relayed.

How the idea arose and what controversies arose

The very idea to conclude a subsoil sharing agreement arose as part of President Vladimir Zelensky's "victory plan." He noted that Ukraine has significant mineral reserves, including rare-earth metals worth trillions of dollars.

These resources, as the head of state noted, could become the basis for the country's economic recovery and strengthening strategic partnership with the United States.

Western media wrote that this item was actually developed for US President Donald Trump and should have interested him. Which eventually happened. The American president quickly picked up the topic, but began to promote it in the most favorable way for himself.

First, it was planned to sign a framework agreement between the countries. As Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal explained, it was to be followed by an agreement on the creation of an investment fund, where Ukraine would channel the money received from the sale of its mineral resources. However, due to the dispute between Zelensky and Trump in the Oval Office in February, this agreement was not concluded.

In late March, Washington offered Kiev an updated version of the agreement. Although the official content of the document was not made public, the Ukrainian president said that the new agreement was no longer a framework agreement, but a full-fledged one and would require ratification by the Verkhovna Rada.

After that, the parties began negotiations on the terms of cooperation. At the same time, the media published information about the content of the draft, which sparked lively discussions.

In particular, the resonance was caused by the provisions that allegedly provide the United States with access to a wide range of Ukrainian natural resources - not only rare earths, but also gas and oil.

The leaks also mentioned that the management of the investment and reconstruction fund will be predominantly American. In addition, Ukraine, according to the text of the document, pledges to repay the funds for all aid received from the US after the outbreak of a full-scale war.

The Ukrainian prime minister, however, recently said after a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that the agreement would not count U.S. aid provided to Ukraine before its signing.

Signing the memorandum

On April 17, however, the parties took a step toward a joint agreement. Ukraine and the United States of America signed a memorandum that recorded the countries' joint intentions to conclude a large-scale agreement on economic partnership. One of its key elements is the creation of the Investment Fund for Ukraine's reconstruction.

The signing of the memorandum took place online. On the Ukrainian side, the document was signed by First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko, and on the American side by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

"We are preparing the creation of the Ukraine Recovery Investment Fund. The corresponding agreement will open opportunities for significant investments, infrastructure modernization and mutually beneficial partnership between Ukraine and the United States," Sviridenko said at the time.

Vice Prime Minister noted that the agreement itself should be ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

What is the bottom line in the signed agreement between Ukraine and the United States?"

The Bloomberg news agency, citing a draft document it received, reported that under the agreement, the United States and Ukraine will seek to create conditions for "increased investment in mining, energy and related technologies in Ukraine.

The text, according to reporters, also said that Washington recognizes Kiev's intentions to ensure that the agreement does not conflict with Ukraine's plans to join the European Union.

In addition, the U.S. agreed that only future military aid for Ukraine would be considered a U.S. contribution to the joint investment fund.

On the latter point, as noted above, Shmygal said Ukraine agreed not to count in the subsoil agreement U.S. aid it received before signing.

Because, as Bloomberg notes, the Trump administration insisted that in the agreement, revenues from future Ukrainian investment projects, particularly on minerals and infrastructure, be "compensation" for military aid provided since the start of the full-scale invasion.

You can support the website Charter97.org

MULTI-CURRENCY ACCOUNT FOR ASSISTANCE:

Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims

You can contact us by the e-mail charter97@gmail.com