The U.S. government says it intends to form a trade zone for critical minerals, as part of a broader effort by to counter China’s ability to use its dominance of the industry as leverage in trade negotiations.
BBC News reports that, on February 4, the State Department hosted the first Critical Minerals Ministerial event, attended by countries and organizations including the U.K., European Union, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Without mentioning China specifically, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to the “foreign supply” of such minerals flooding global markets, making it difficult for other countries with mineral deposits to secure the financing needed to produce them. The U.S. planned to use tariffs to stop critical mineral prices falling too low, which can deter investment, he said.
According to the BBC, David Copley, a special assistant to President Donald Trump, said the U.S. intends to “deploy hundreds of billions of capital into the mining sector to get projects going”.
He said that investments have already been made in several companies, including MP Materials, which makes rare earths magnets, and Lithium Americas, which produces material for rechargeable batteries.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also said that the U.S., Japan and the European Commission are developing “coordinated trade policies and mechanisms” in order to collectively secure access to important minerals.
Ahead of the meeting, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “countries need to follow the principles of market economy and international economic and trade rules, step up communication and dialogue.”