Bessent shared that he had been advocating for a dedicated meeting on this matter since last summer’s G7 leaders’ summit, noting that finance ministers had previously convened for a virtual meeting in December.
India has also received an invitation to the meeting, as Bessent informed Reuters in an interview following his visit to the engineering lab of RV and boat manufacturer Winnebago Industries in the Minneapolis area. He expressed uncertainty regarding India’s acceptance of the invitation.
It remains unclear which additional countries received invitations.
The G7 comprises the United States, Britain, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada, alongside the European Union; most of these nations rely heavily on rare earth supplies from China. Last June, the group reached an agreement on an action plan to safeguard their supply chains and bolster their economies.
In October, Australia signed a pact with the US aimed at countering China’s influence in critical minerals. This agreement includes an $8.5 billion project pipeline and utilizes Australia’s planned strategic reserve to supply metals such as rare earths and lithium, which are susceptible to disruptions.
Canberra has reported receiving interest from Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore following this agreement.
According to the International Energy Agency, China dominates the critical minerals supply chain, processing between 47% and 87% of copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite, and rare earths. These minerals are essential for defense technologies, semiconductors, renewable energy components, batteries, and refining processes.
In recent years, Western countries have aimed to diminish their reliance on China’s critical minerals due to China’s enforcement of stringent export controls on rare earths.
The meeting on Monday follows reports that China has begun restricting exports of rare earths and powerful magnets to Japanese firms, alongside banning the export of dual-use items to the Japanese military.
Bessent mentioned that China is still fulfilling its commitments to purchase U.S. soybeans and supply critical minerals to American companies.
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