Australia exchanged critical minerals for the US "nuclear submarines," but did not get tariff reductions from the US on Australia.
The Sydney Morning Herald's front page reported that the Australian Prime Minister "mastered the art of deals."
Donald Trump has ordered US officials to accelerate the US-UK-Australia trilateral security partnership (AUKUS) submarine agreement, which is good news for Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who finalized a A$13 billion critical minerals transaction during his first meeting with the US President.
US Navy leaders said the "ambiguities" in the AUKUS plan still need clarification. This statement prompted Australian officials to urgently seek more details, while Trump refused to reduce tariffs on Australia, including tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
On the 20th, US President Trump met with Australian Prime Minister Albanese at the White House and signed an agreement on rare earths (rare earths) and critical minerals. With China strengthening its influence over the global rare earth supply network, cooperation will be strengthened to ensure the supply of rare earths.
This was the first face-to-face meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Albanese. President Trump supported the security framework "AUKUS" proposed by the US, UK, and Australia, and expressed the intention to speed up the delivery of nuclear submarines to Australia. This meeting was a meeting that greatly recognized China.
At the beginning of the meeting, President Trump explained that he had been negotiating the rare earths agreement for four to five months. Prime Minister Albanese stated that the agreement would also include projects with Japan.
According to a protocol document released by the office of the Australian Prime Minister, the two countries will each invest A$1 billion in mining and processing projects within the next six months and set a minimum price for critical minerals.
A statement released by the White House said that a total of $53 billion will be invested in key mineral deposits, but did not mention details such as the type or location of the minerals. Trump told reporters, "About a year later, we will have so many critical minerals and rare earths that we won't know what to do with them."
The White House also announced that the US Export-Import Bank will issue seven documents, considering providing a total of $2.2 billion in financing for mineral projects between the two countries. However, no details were given.
In addition, the US Department of Defense will build a gallium refining plant in Western Australia. China stopped exporting gallium to the US in December last year.
Trump expressed support for the security framework AUKUS developed by the US, UK, and Australia, aimed at countering China's influence in the Indo-Pacific region, and expressed the intention to speed up the delivery of nuclear submarines to Australia.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846635003351052/
Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.