Washington DC [US], February 5 (ANI): The United States, with its companions and allies, has got down to reshape the worldwide marketplace for vital minerals and uncommon earths and within the ‘2026 Critical Minerals Ministerial, Washington and its companions ‘took motion to construct safe and resilient provide chains’
A Fact Sheet from the workplace of State Department Spokesperson on ‘2026 Critical Minerals Ministerial’ mentioned that vital minerals and uncommon earths are important ‘for our most superior applied sciences and can solely grow to be extra vital as AI, robotics, batteries, and autonomous units rework our economies.’
Without naming any nation, the Fact Sheet mentioned ‘at the moment, this market is very concentrated, leaving it a software of political coercion and provide chain disruption, placing our core pursuits in danger’.
‘Today the United States, along with our companions and allies, has got down to reshape the worldwide marketplace for vital minerals and uncommon earths,’ the Fact Sheet mentioned, issued on February 4 (US time).
‘We will construct new sources of provide, foster safe and dependable transport and logistics networks, and rework the worldwide market into one that’s safe, diversified, and resilient, end-to-end,’ it added.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, joined by Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer, hosted representatives of 54 nations and the European Commission, together with 43 international and different ministers, on the 2026 Critical Minerals Ministerial.
‘At at the moment’s Ministerial, the United States and our companions took motion to construct safe and resilient vital mineral provide chains. In at some point, the United States signed new bilateral vital minerals frameworks and memorandums of understanding (MOUs), introduced US authorities financing alternatives to help strategic minerals initiatives, and celebrated the launch of the Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE),’ the Fact Sheet mentioned.
It mentioned these efforts are complemented by ‘our collaboration between the United States and its 9 Pax Silica companions’ to safe strategic stacks of the worldwide expertise provide chain.
‘Today, the United States signed eleven new bilateral vital minerals frameworks or MOUs with nations, together with Argentina, the Cook Islands, Ecuador, Guinea, Morocco, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan,’ the Fact Sheet mentioned.
The United States signed ten different vital mineral frameworks or MOUs prior to now 5 months and reached completion of negotiations on such agreements with seventeen different nations.
‘The United States is demonstrating unprecedented management in vital minerals diplomacy. These frameworks lay the groundwork for nations to collaborate on pricing challenges, spur growth, create truthful markets, shut gaps in precedence provide chains, and broaden entry to financing,’ the Fact Sheet mentioned.
Secretary Rubio introduced the creation of FORGE because the successor to the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP).
FORGE, which will likely be chaired by the Republic of Korea by way of June, will lead with daring and decisive motion to handle ongoing challenges within the world vital minerals market.
Understanding the advantages of working collectively and constructing on the MSP, FORGE companions will collaborate on the coverage and venture ranges to advance initiatives that strengthen diversified, resilient, and safe vital minerals provide chains.
‘Recognizing that governments alone can not clear up this downside, we’re dedicated to shut partnership with the personal sector, together with by way of Pax Silica, which is able to lead by way of investments in mining, refining and processing, finish use purposes, and recycling and reprocessing,’ the Fact Sheet mentioned.
‘On February 3, the day earlier than the ministerial, we introduced main lights within the personal sector along with governments from all over the world to debate provide chain challenges and funding alternatives,’ it added.
It mentioned the US Government is mobilizing unprecedented sources to safe vital mineral provide chains, supporting initiatives with greater than USD 30 billion in letters of curiosity, investments, loans, and different help over the previous six months in partnership with the personal sector.
‘These investments, together with Pax Silica and our reinvigorated diplomatic and industrial engagement pushed by America First values, are having a multiplier impact, mobilizing personal capital many occasions higher than the US authorities outlay, which is able to generate billions of {dollars} in new initiatives to safe our provide chains,’ the Fact Sheet mentioned.
It mentioned these coordinated efforts span home and worldwide initiatives, strengthening U.S. nationwide safety and financial competitiveness. Under the Trump Administration, America is main the worldwide race for strategic minerals and superior manufacturing.
‘This is just the beginning–dozens of extra initiatives are within the pipeline present process due diligence by US funding businesses, with extra coming on-line quickly.’
US Government help for vital mineral provide chains within the latest previous consists of Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM)
On February 2, US President Donald Trump introduced Project Vault, a landmark initiative led by the Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), which marks an unprecedented step in US industrial coverage by establishing a home strategic reserve for vital minerals.
The EXIM Board of Directors accredited a Direct Loan of as much as USD 10 billion for Project Vault, greater than double the biggest financing in EXIM’s historical past, designed to defend home producers from provide shocks, broaden U.S. manufacturing and processing of vital uncooked supplies, and essentially strengthen America’s vital minerals sector.
More broadly, over the previous 12 months, EXIM has issued USD 14.8 billion in Letters of Interest for vital minerals initiatives beneath the Trump Administration, together with, in latest months, USD 455 million for uncommon earth growth and processing within the United States; USD 400 million for lithium extraction in Arkansas; USD 350 million for cobalt and nickel manufacturing in Australia; and USD 215 million for tin extraction throughout the United Kingdom and Australia.
Under the Trump administration, the US International Development Finance Corporation has invested in and is exploring greater than a billion {dollars} in new mineral exploration offers and strengthened vital mineral provide chains for the United States and U.S. allies, together with USD 75 million preliminary seed funding for vital minerals and strategic sectors in Ukraine that has mobilized one other USD 75 million in non-U.S. authorities funding.
It additionally consists of USD 600 million into the Orion Critical Minerals Consortium for vital minerals investments worldwide, that has mobilized a further USD 1.2 billion in non-U.S. authorities funding; USD 565 million for heavy and lightweight uncommon earth extraction in Brazil; LOI exploring as much as USD 700 million to assist finance tungsten growth in Kazakhstan; Joint enterprise negotiations with African buying and selling car that has secured 100,000 tons of copper for the US and 50,000 for US allies, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and Strategic funding partnerships to discover vital mineral funding alternatives with main Gulf corporations.
The Fact Sheet mentioned that this morning Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) introduced an Action Plan on Critical Minerals with Mexico that develops coordinated commerce insurance policies and mechanisms that mitigate vital mineral provide chain vulnerabilities.
Also, USTR introduced that the United States, the European Commission, and Japan intend to develop Action Plans for vital minerals provide chain resilience.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday mentioned ‘extreme focus’ in vital mineral provide chains poses a serious world threat and referred to as for structured worldwide cooperation to ‘de-risk’ them.
‘Spoke on the Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington DC at the moment. Underlined challenges of extreme focus and the significance of de-risking provide chains by way of structured worldwide cooperation. Highlighted India’s efforts in the direction of higher resilience by way of initiatives together with National Critical Minerals Mission, Rare Earth Corridors and accountable commerce. Conveyed India’s help to the FORGE initiative on vital minerals,’ Jaishankar mentioned in a put up on X. (ANI)