Largest global bloc of critical minerals created - US gathers over 50 countries to oppose China's monopoly
US Vice President JD Vance unveiled plans to unite allies in a preferential trading bloc for critical minerals, proposing coordinated minimum prices, as Washington escalates efforts to remove China's control over essential materials.
China has exercised complete control over the processing of many minerals as geoeconomic leverage, at times curbing exports, driving down prices, and undermining the ability of other countries to diversify sources of materials used to produce semiconductors, electric vehicles, and advanced weapons.
"We want to eliminate the problem of countries flooding our markets with cheap, critical minerals to drive down prices for our domestic producers," Vance said during a meeting with ministers in Washington, without mentioning China.
"We will set reference prices for critical minerals at each stage of production and for members of the preferential zone, these reference prices will function as a floor through adjustable tariffs to maintain price integrity," Vance said.
President Donald Trump's administration has stepped up efforts to secure U.S. supplies of critical minerals after China shocked top officials and global markets last year by illegally withholding rare metals sought by American automakers and other industrial producers.
On Monday, Trump launched a US strategic reserve of critical minerals, called Project Vault, backed by $10 billion in seed funding from the US Export-Import Bank and $2 billion in private financing.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said 55 countries participated in the talks in Washington, including South Korea, India, Thailand, Japan, Germany, Australia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
At the meeting, a bilateral plan with Mexico and a trilateral agreement with the European Union and Japan were announced to strengthen critical mineral supply chains and prepare the ground for a broader agreement with other allies.
The plans aim to explore specific measures, such as price supports, market standards, subsidies and guaranteed purchases to encourage production.
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