S. 5637 — STRATA Act of 2026

This section establishes the Critical Minerals Innovation Partnership Program in the Department of State to support the development and adoption of critical minerals innovative technologies through partnerships with countries and entities, in order to enhance national security, support economic competitiveness, and diversify critical supply chains of the United States. It requires the Secretary of State to appoint a Director of the program who reports to the Under Secretary of Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment and coordinates with other federal agencies on administration and implementation.

This section establishes eligibility criteria for countries and entities to participate in the program. The Secretary must consider whether a country is an ally or partner, strategically important, capable of participation, and respects human and labor rights and the rule of law, with preference for countries that have trade agreements with the United States, participate in specified bilateral or multilateral initiatives, or meet Millennium Challenge Act criteria. Eligible entities include institutions of higher education, federally funded research and development centers, certain nonprofits and private sector entities with existing partnerships, and consortia of such entities, provided they are not foreign entities of concern. The Secretary may not establish partnerships with countries of concern or country of concern entities.

This section requires the Director to notify the appropriate congressional committees, transmit the text of the partnership agreement, and provide an in-person briefing at least 30 days before entering into a partnership with a country or entity under the program.

This section requires each partnership under the program to include specific objectives, the responsibilities of each party, quantitative benchmarks where appropriate, a multiyear plan estimating U.S. and partner contributions with oversight mechanisms and private-sector roles, a description of other donor participation, preferred methods for dispute resolution and intellectual property allocation, notification procedures for potentially classifiable information, and processes for considering solicited and unsolicited proposals via the digital platform established under section 202.

This section directs the Director to establish dialogue with participating countries and entities, develop multinational strategies and roadmaps for critical mineral supply chains, coordinate joint solicitations and technical assistance across agencies, align standards with allies and partners, aggregate demand to support offtake arrangements, recommend project priorities, receive unsolicited proposals, coordinate eligibility criteria and safeguards, and monitor supply chain resilience metrics. It also authorizes the Director to establish Country Teams at U.S. overseas posts to implement partnerships.

This section authorizes the Director to request the detail of personnel from other federal agencies on a reimbursable basis, requiring relevant sectoral, financial, technical, or regional expertise, and to detail program staff to assisting agencies, while preserving the detailed employees' allowances, privileges, rights, seniority, and benefits as employees of their home agencies.

This section establishes International Centers of Excellence for Innovative Critical Minerals Supply Chain Technologies to advance extraction, processing, and recycling technologies; strengthen technical and regulatory capacity in participating countries; promote transparency and adherence to environmental, labor, and human rights standards; and support secure critical minerals supply chains aligned with U.S. national and economic security interests.

This section establishes a publicly accessible digital platform to facilitate participation by United States entities in the program. The platform must serve as a centralized clearinghouse for solicitations, funding opportunities, pilot projects, and collaborative research; list priority capability gaps and needs; enable early-stage companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, research institutions, and other entities to apply or submit proposals on a rolling basis; and support matchmaking and coordination with investors, the United States International Development Finance Corporation, the United States Trade and Development Agency, and embassies.

This section directs the Director to serve as liaison to the National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on International Science and Technology Coordination to identify mutually beneficial areas of cooperation with participating countries and entities and to develop related action plans. It requires the Secretary to submit technologies developed under the program to the National Defense Technology and Industrial Base Council for accelerated transition to operational deployment, government integration, and commercial application, provided the technologies are approved by the United States and participating countries or submitted by an allied or partner country under 10 U.S.C. 2350a(a)(2).

This section authorizes the President to furnish assistance to countries and organizations for science and technology cooperation projects that advance critical minerals and energy technologies, including grants and technical assistance for advanced extraction, processing and refining, energy technologies, materials science, recycling, advanced manufacturing, geological intelligence, environmental management, fertilizer innovations, biotechnologies, pilot facilities, and other emerging technologies. It assigns implementation to the Secretary of State in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, requires 15-day advance notification to the congressional foreign affairs and appropriations committees, and authorizes transfers from National Security Investment Programs appropriations for allied research partnerships, subject to section 634A notification procedures.

This section terminates all authorities under this Act and its amendments 10 years after the date of enactment. It continues any bilateral or multilateral partnerships, agreements, grants, or cooperative agreements entered into before that date, as well as related administrative or oversight activities.