US demand for right of first refusal on Canadian minerals ‘impossible’: experts
A blanket US right of first refusal on Canadian minerals is unworkable for Canada, experts told Platts as trade talks over the Trump administration’s pending 50% tariff targeting America’s northern neighbor draw to a close. The hefty US tariff, announced July 20 and set to go live Aug. 19, would hit a swath of Canadian ...
Experts have stated that the US demand for a blanket right of first refusal on Canadian minerals is unfeasible. With the looming US tariff on Canada set to commence on August 19, US-Canada trade talks have been ongoing, with US officials seeking preferential access to Canadian minerals. However, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Heather Exner-Pirot, declared that a blanket right of first refusal (ROFR) on Canadian minerals is impossible.
She noted that it would be legally impossible to enforce under Canadian law and wouldn't be acceptable to the Canadian public or miners operating there. Experts also suggested that narrower, commercially acceptable rights to minerals could be a more workable solution. The trade talks are intensifying amid a protectionist US trade policy, with Canada accounting for a significant portion of US metals and minerals imports.
While some experts note that the US could secure Canadian minerals through traditional means such as investments in Canadian projects, others argue that a blanket ROFR would put Canadian miners in a tough spot, potentially diverting metal sales already under contract.
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