The U.S. is urging its allies to move faster in cutting their reliance on China for rare earths and other key minerals. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent plans to press the issue when he hosts finance leaders from the G7 and several other major economies this week. According to a senior U.S. official, the message is simple and direct. “Urgency is the theme of the day,” the official said.
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The group includes the G7, the European Union, and countries like India, Australia, South Korea, and Mexico. Together, they account for about 60% of global demand for critical minerals. These materials are vital for defense gear, chips, clean energy tools, batteries, and AI systems. However, most of that supply still runs through China.
China now refines between 47% and 87% of copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite, and rare earths, based on data from the International Energy Agency. As a result, many Western nations remain exposed to supply risks. Bessent has grown frustrated with the slow pace of action since a G7 summit last June, where leaders agreed on a supply chain plan but took few clear steps after.
China’s Grip and the U.S. Response
China has shown it is willing to use its leverage. It recently began limiting rare earth exports to Japanese firms and banned some dual-use items for Japan’s military. While U.S. officials say China is still meeting current trade deals, the move added pressure ahead of the talks.
In response, the U.S. is pushing others to follow its lead. “The United States is in the posture of calling everyone together, showing leadership, sharing what we have in mind going forward,” the official said. The Trump administration is backing domestic mining and new supply deals with allies.
One key step came in October, when the U.S. signed an agreement with Australia aimed at easing China’s grip. The deal includes an $8.5 billion project pipeline and draws on Australia’s planned strategic reserve for metals like rare earths and lithium. Canberra later said Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore showed interest in the plan.
For now, no joint action is expected from the meeting. Still, the U.S. plans to issue a statement after it ends. As the official put it, progress has been made, but “it’s not solved.”
Using TipRanks’ Comparison Tool, we lined up all the tickers from this piece across the mineral, chip, EV, and tech space.
