Joshua Kroon, a senior director of public affairs at the nonprofit SAFE, has been tapped to serve in the Trump administration in a role focused on critical minerals as President Donald Trump ramps up efforts to ease China’s control over global raw materials.
Kroon will serve as deputy assistant secretary for textiles, consumer goods, materials, critical minerals and metals within the International Trade Administration, an agency that operates under the Department of Commerce.
He has a lengthy resume in military operations, finance and advocacy. Before joining SAFE, Kroon served as executive vice president at the public relations firm Allison, where he directed public affairs. He also served as a special forces engineer in the U.S. Army.
SAFE, a pro-domestic-energy nonprofit that launched in 2005, played a prominent role under the Biden administration and has continued to hold sway under Trump. Officials from SAFE, for example, helped shape the Inflation Reduction Act and lead a governmentwide effort under Biden to secure critical minerals.
Today, SAFE has an ongoing contract to work with the State Department through 2027. The group recently launched a campaign to preserve energy tax credits in a reconciliation bill moving through Congress and in the past has called on the Trump administration to tap a new “minerals czar” in the White House, redirect unused IRA dollars to support new mineral projects, and streamline permitting for strategic projects on federal land to counter China.
Kroon’s appointment arrives as minerals emerge at the forefront of Trump’s dealmaking abroad.
The administration and Chinese officials, for example, recently agreed to a “framework” to deescalate trade tensions. As part of those talks, China agreed to ease its restrictions on rare earth export licenses for U.S. automakers and manufacturers for six months, a move that some say highlights — but doesn’t relieve — the nation’s reliance on foreign adversaries for raw materials.
“While this temporary measure may offer short-term relief to U.S. manufacturers, it underscores just how exposed we remain to geopolitical leverage over materials essential to our national defense, energy systems, and advanced technologies,” said Abigail Hunter, executive director of SAFE’s Center for Critical Minerals Strategy.
Minerals were also a focal point of the G7 summit in Canada, which wrapped up this week. The U.S. along with other members signed off on an “action plan” from the meeting that calls for boosting production of critical minerals, working together to identify and tackle shortages, and developing a road map to promote standards-based markets around mining and processing.
Read the full story: “Trump taps official for critical minerals role.“
