BRASILIA (dpa-AFX) - In an attempt to break free from China's dominance of the critical minerals and rare earths industry and to build secure and resilient supply chains, the U.S. government has launched a global initiative to form a trade zone that are key to manufacturing AI, robotics, batteries, smartphones, autonomous devices and weapons.
On Wednesday, the State Department hosted the first Critical Minerals Ministerial event, attended by representatives of 54 countries and the European Commission, including 43 foreign and other ministers.
Delegations from Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Cook Islands, the Czech Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, the European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guinea, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, South Korea, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, the Netherlands, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, the United States and Zambia attended the 2026 Critical Minerals Ministerial.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer represented the U.S. Government.
Addressing the event in Washington, Vance said, 'We want to eliminate that problem of people flooding into our markets with cheap critical minerals to undercut our domestic manufacturers,' in apparent reference to China.
'We will establish reference prices for critical minerals at each stage of production, ... and for members of the preferential zone, these reference prices will operate as a floor maintained through adjustable tariffs to uphold pricing integrity,' he added.
On Wednesday, the United States signed new bilateral critical minerals frameworks or memorandums of understanding with Argentina, the Cook Islands, Ecuador, Guinea, Morocco, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan.
This is in addition to the United States signing ten other critical mineral frameworks or MOUs in the past five months and completing negotiations on such agreements with 17 other countries.
These frameworks lay the groundwork for nations to collaborate on pricing challenges, spur development, create fair markets, close gaps in priority supply chains, and expand access to financing.
At the event, Secretary Rubio announced the launch of the Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement, or FORGE, as the successor to the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP).
A precursor to the new trade bloc will be chaired by South Korea through June. It aims to take bold and decisive action to address ongoing challenges in the global critical minerals marketplace. 'Understanding the benefits of working together and building on the MSP, FORGE partners will collaborate at the policy and project levels to advance initiatives that strengthen diversified, resilient, and secure critical minerals supply chains,' the State Department said in a press release.
'Recognizing that governments alone cannot solve this problem, we are committed to close partnership with the private sector, including through Pax Silica, which will lead through investments in mining, refining and processing, end use applications, and recycling and reprocessing,' it added.
On the eve of the ministerial, the State Department convened a meeting of the private sector together with governments from around the world to discuss supply chain challenges and investment opportunities. Glencore and the U.S.-backed Orion Critical Mineral Consortium signed an MOU in relation to a potential acquisition of assets in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This will encourage greater U.S. investment in the DRC's mining sector and promote secure, reliable, and mutually beneficial flows of copper and cobalt to the United States from the minerals-rich African country.
Following the ministerial, Deputy Secretary Landau and Under Secretary Helberg convened a task force of mining industry leaders to advance priority projects in the framework of new collaboration with the United States and its partners.
Critical minerals and rare earths are essential for the most advanced technologies and will only become more important as AI, robotics, computer chips, electric vehicle batteries, and autonomous devices transform global economies. Today, this market is highly depended on China, leaving it a tool of political coercion and supply chain disruption, putting the United States' core interests at risk.
With the creation of the new international collective, it aims to build new sources of supply, foster secure and reliable transport and logistics networks, and transform the global market into one that is secure, diversified, and resilient, end-to-end.
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