MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/. The United States is unlikely to benefit much from its minerals deal with Ukraine, Jeffrey Sachs, American economist and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, said in an interview with TASS.
When asked if the US economy would benefit from the deal, he said: "Not very much."
"We don't know - nobody knows - for sure what's really there, what's economical to produce, how many years it would take, how the smelting of the metals and other processing would be done. So, I think there's a fair bit of hype involved in the question of the Ukrainian mining assets. There may be something there, but I don't think it's any kind of bonanza for the United States," Saches pointed out.
Minerals deal
On May 1, the Ukrainian cabinet released the text of a minerals deal with the United States. After reviewing its contents, numerous media outlets and Ukrainian parliament members expressed their criticism of the terms of the deal, noting that it would mean the loss of part of Kiev’s control over its economic policy. Among other things, it would grant the United States long-term preferential access to Ukrainian mineral resources, without including any security guarantees that have been actively discussed in Vladimir Zelensky’s office.
After signing the agreement, Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko said that Kiev would invest 50% of all revenues from new rents and mineral licenses in a joint investment fund. According to her, the partnership between the United States and Ukraine will be equal, while the deal includes no direct debt obligation to the United States. In the first ten years of its operation, the fund will not pay dividends, with all its revenues to be reinvested in Ukraine. The proceeds will be allocated to projects for mineral development and processing, as well as infrastructure enhancement.