G-7 works to secure critical minerals in face of China curbs
The Group of Seven leading economies are working to shore up supplies of critical minerals as they seek to move away from reliance on China for materials used in everything from mobile phones to wind turbines.
G-7 leaders aim to agree to a statement at their meeting in Kananaskis, Canada, to establish an “action plan” to diversify supplies of the vital metals and encourage “immediate and scaled investment” in projects, according to a draft document obtained by Bloomberg.
Without mentioning China — which accounts for almost 70% of the world’s production of rare earths — they mentioned the “threat to our economies” of current practices in the sector.
“We have shared national and economic security interests, which depend on access to resilient critical minerals supply chains governed by market principles,” according to the draft, according to the draft, which is still subject to changes before its adoption by leaders.
“Non-market policies and practices in the critical minerals sector threaten our ability to acquire many critical minerals, including the rare earth elements needed for magnets, that are vital for industrial production.”
The risks to western economies posed by the reliance on China for key resources used in a wide range of manufacturing industries has been laid bare since April when in retaliation to US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the Asian nation tightened export controls on seven types of rare earths, having already rolled out similar curbs on other critical materials such as gallium, germanium, graphite and antimony, over the previous two years.
“We recognize the need to work together to increase investment in responsible critical minerals projects within the G-7 and around the world,” the draft document said.
“Immediate and scaled investment is required to secure future supply chains and ensure promising mining and processing projects overcome barriers such as delays in permitting and approvals processes, market manipulation, and price volatility.”
The statement also encouraged multilateral development banks and private sector lenders “to make further capital available for investment in standards-based critical minerals projects, including through innovative financing.”
The G-7 is composed of the US, Canada, Japan, Germany, the UK, France, and Italy, as well as the European Union.
The renewed US-China trade truce struck in London left a key area of export restrictions tied to national security untouched, an unresolved conflict that threatens a more comprehensive deal, two people briefed on detailed outcomes of the talks told Reuters. Beijing has not committed to grant export clearance for some specialized rare earth magnets that US military suppliers need for fighter jets and missile systems, the people said.
The United States maintains export curbs on China’s purchases of advanced artificial intelligence chips out of concern that they also have military applications.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the handshake deal reached in London between American and Chinese negotiators was a “great deal,” adding, “we have everything we need, and we’re going to do very well with it. And hopefully they are too.”
And US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there would be no “quid pro quo” on easing curbs on exports of AI chips to China in exchange for access to rare earths.
A personalised tool to help users track selected stocks. Delivering real-time notifications on price updates, announcements, and performance stats on each to help make informed investment decisions.
(20min delay)