Representatives from about 20 countries, including the UK, US, Australia, Japan, South Korea, India, and the EU, will gather in Washington to discuss establishing a strategic alliance for critical minerals

Ministers from the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand will hold a meeting this week in Washington to discuss forming a strategic alliance around critical minerals. This meeting is seen as an important step in repairing the transatlantic relationship that was broken due to a year-long conflict with U.S. President Trump, and it also paves the way for building alliances on other issues to help countries reduce the risk of dependency on China, including an alliance centered on steel.

Australia said on Friday that it would establish a strategic mineral reserve worth 1.2 billion Australian dollars, which the country considers vulnerable to supply disruptions from China. In April last year, China restricted rare earth exports in response to Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs.

This will be the second summit on this issue within a month, with about 20 countries participating, including G7 members - the UK, the US, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada - as well as India, South Korea, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and possibly Argentina.

It is reported that one of the key points of discussion will be calling on the U.S. to guarantee a minimum price for critical minerals and rare earths. This week, it was reported that the U.S. has decided not to adopt this idea, and in response to this news, the Australian stock market fell.

Australia has been committed to becoming a supplier of critical minerals outside of China and has decided to stockpile elements such as antimony and gallium. This move follows Japan's example. Japan has actively accumulated mineral reserves for years to cope with the possibility of China cutting off key mineral supplies at any time to advance its foreign policy.

Madeline King, Australia's Minister for Resources and North Australia, said that if the U.S. decides not to provide a minimum price, it "will not stop Australia from continuing its critical mineral reserve plan."

It is understood that this meeting was convened by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and he and other participating countries hope to quickly strengthen non-Chinese supply chains through potential price and investment support. The U.S. Department of State stated before the summit: "Strengthening key mineral supply chains with international partners is crucial for the U.S. economy, national security, technological leadership, and the resilience of the energy future."

EU sources said that if the negotiations are successful, a joint statement will be issued, which could be seen as a milestone shift in the relationship between the Trump administration and its allies, as allies will cooperate with the U.S. to de-risk from China rather than constantly face Trump's tariff threats.

The UK Foreign Office said that a government minister will attend the meeting and added, "UK economic security and national security are closely linked. Therefore, we are working to ensure the diversification of critical mineral supply chains - a crucial step in safeguarding UK economic growth." The UK Foreign Office said, "We look forward to continuing these important consultations with important partners."

The EU is also expected to use this meeting to pressure the U.S. to abandon new global steel-derived tariffs. These tariffs would impose punitive taxes on products containing steel components, covering a wide range of items, from aluminum doors, bicycles, straighteners, to offshore wind turbines.

The first list of derived tariffs was published in August last year. Previously, Trump had just shaken hands with the EU on tariffs at a golf course in Scotland. The Trump administration has threatened to introduce a second list of up to 700 products in January this year, but this list has not yet appeared, giving the EU and the UK hope to continue pressuring.

An EU insider added, "We have complained many times." Another person said, "We hope they (the U.S.) will take this into account because it violates the agreement reached in August." This person pointed out, "They may argue that the first tariff list was announced between the Scottish agreement and the U.S.-EU joint statement, but the second tariff list violates the agreement."

An EU source emphasized, "This is about trust. You sign an agreement, you should believe it will be implemented. This constant threat of imposing more tariffs must stop, whether it's a 10% tariff threat over Greenland or a 200% tariff threat on champagne because of France not joining the 'Peace Council'."

Since reaching a 12-month trade truce agreement with China in October last year, the Trump administration has been holding multilateral consultations. Previously, the escalating tariff disputes between the U.S. and China had threatened to cut off rare earth supplies.

Rare earths have become one of the most important raw materials in modern manufacturing, needed for almost everything from smartphones to fighter jets, wind turbines, and speakers.

European supply of permanent magnets, made from rare earth materials with high magnetic properties, is almost entirely from China. According to a senior EU Commission official in December last year, the EU uses 20,000 tons of permanent magnets annually, of which 17,000 to 18,000 tons come from China, while the EU itself produces only 1,000 tons.

Source: rfi

Original: toutiao.com/article/1855976990667145/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.