Trump Plans $1B Strategic Critical Minerals Stockpile Project
Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Trump with this weekly recap compiled by The Fly.FUNDING PACKAGE:The U.S. House of Representatives voted 217-214 to pass legislation funding major parts of the government and ending a partial shutdown, with the package heading to President Trump's desk, CBS News' Caitlin Yilek and Kaia Hubbard. The package includes five full-year spending bills and an extension of Department of Homeland Security funding through February 13, the authors say. Democrats are demanding changes to how immigration enforcement agencies such as ICE conduct their operations, with the issue now serving as the focus of talks on Capitol Hill, the authors note.U.S. PROBE:The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commissionthat the federal agency filed an action in federal court to compel Niketo produce information related to allegations that the company discriminated against white workers, including as a result of Nike's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion-related 2025 Targets and other DEI-related objectives. According to the EEOC's court filing, the agency is investigating systemic allegations of DEI-related intentional race discrimination, specifically that Nike may have engaged in "a pattern or practice of disparate treatment against white employees, applicants and training program participants in hiring, promotion, demotion, or separation decisions, including selection for layoffs; internship programs; and mentoring, leadership development and other career development programs." The EEOC's investigation and subpoena sought information related to these allegations, with some requests going back to 2018. Information sought included criteria used in selecting employees for layoffs; information related to the company's tracking and use of worker race and ethnicity data, including as a factor in setting executive compensation; and information about 16 programs which allegedly provided race-restricted mentoring, leadership, or career development opportunities. When the company failed to produce all the information sought by the subpoena, the agency filed an enforcement action in federal court, the EEOC said.TARIFFS:The Argentine foreign ministrya statement on X to announce a reciprocal trade and investment agreement between Argentina and the United States. The U.S. will eliminate reciprocal tariffs for 1,675 Argentine products and the U.S. government also committed to a timely review of tariffs on steel and aluminum, according to the statement.WBD TAKEOVER:President Donald Trump said in a new interview on Wednesday did an about-face and said that he will not be involved in the fight between streaming giant Netflixand Paramount Skydanceto buy some or all of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to's Dan Mangan. "I haven't been involved," Trump told "NBC Nightly News." "I've been called by both sides," Trump said. "It's the two sides, but I've decided I shouldn't be involved. The Justice Department will handle it."CHINA TALKS:President Donald Trumpon his social media site, "I have just completed an excellent telephone conversation with President Xi, of China. It was a long and thorough call, where many important subjects were discussed, including Trade, Military, the April trip that I will be making to China (which I very much look forward to!), Taiwan, the War between Russia/Ukraine, the current situation with Iran, the purchase of Oil and Gas by China from the United States, the consideration by China of the purchase of additional Agricultural products including lifting the Soybean count to 20 Million Tons for the current season (They have committed to 25 Million Tons for next season!), Airplane engine deliveries, and numerous other subjects, all very positive! The relationship with China, and my personal relationship with President Xi, is an extremely good one, and we both realize how important it is to keep it that way. I believe that there will be many positive results achieved over the next three years of my Presidency having to do with President Xi, and the People's Republic of China!"QUANTUM EO:The White House is drafting an executive order aimed at advancing quantum information science and technology, with the goal of coordinating efforts across the federal government to strengthen the U.S. quantum ecosystem, Alexandra Kelley of Nextgov/FCW, citing a draft document obtained by Nextgov/FCW. The order would reportedly direct the Office of Science and Technology Policy to articulate a national vision for maintaining U.S. leadership in quantum technologies. The framework outlines steps such as reducing barriers to commercialization, expanding access to international markets, deepening cooperation with allied countries, building quantum-ready infrastructure, reinforcing supply chains and sustaining long-term basic research. Publicly traded companies in the space include D-Wave Quantum, IonQ, Quantum Computingand Rigetti Computing.TARIFFS:President Trumpon social media, "It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to 'BUY AMERICAN,' at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most."MINERALS STOCKPILE:President Trump plans to launch a $1B strategic critical minerals stockpile, Project Vault, to reduce U.S. reliance on Chinese rare earths and protect manufacturers from supply shocks, Bloomberg's Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Joe Deaux. The initiative would combine $10B in Export-Import Bank loans with $1.67B in private capital to procure and store minerals for U.S. industry, according to the report. Publicly traded companies in the space include MP Materials, USA Rare Earth, Critical Metals, and United States Antimony.
