External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar joined US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other foreign delegates at the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington on Thursday to chalk out plans to reduce China’s dominance in the sector. India underlined the challenges of “excessive concentration” and the importance of de-risking supply chains through structured international cooperation, the minister said.
He also highlighted India’s efforts towards greater resilience through initiatives including National Critical Minerals Mission, Rare Earth Corridors and responsible commerce and conveyed support to the Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE) initiative on critical minerals.
The US hosted the inaugural forum bringing together delegations from over 50 countries to advance collaboration on securing and diversifying global critical mineral supply chains. Rubio said the initiative is meant to create a reliable global supply chains in critical minerals and processed and finished materials. FORGE will be chaired by South Korea through June and lead with actions to address ongoing challenges in the global critical minerals marketplace.
“Some countries have a number of critical minerals that they have available to them in terms of mining, but just haven’t been able to do it because a foreign competitor will come in, they’ll gut the price, they’ll undercut it through state subsidies and unfair practices, and so it becomes economically unviable to be able to explore for critical minerals,” he said, in a tacit reference to China’s policies.
Beijing controls 95% of critical minerals production and refining capacity in the world. That level of control is being used as a tool of leverage in geopolitics and also lends itself to disruptions like a pandemic or political instability, Rubio said.
China has used rare earths and permanent magnets export curbs during trade negotiations with the US. These minerals and technologies are important for manufacturing goods like solar panels, mobile phones and electric vehicle batteries.
US Vice President JD Vance invited allies and partners to work together to reshape the global critical minerals market, highlighting its role in modern economies. The country signed new bilateral critical minerals frameworks or MOUs with Argentina, the Cook Islands, Ecuador, Guinea, Morocco, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan.
Washington is mobilising resources to secure critical mineral supply chains, supporting projects with more than $30 billion in letters of interest, investments, loans, and other support over the past six months in partnership with the private sector.
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