US Leads Global Push to Secure Critical Mineral Supply Chains Against Coercion

A Fact Sheet from the office of State Department Spokesperson on '2026 Critical Minerals Ministerial' said that critical minerals and rare earths are essential "for our most advanced technologies and will only become more important as AI, robotics, batteries, and autonomous devices transform our economies."

Without naming any country, the Fact Sheet said "today, this market is highly concentrated, leaving it a tool of political coercion and supply chain disruption, putting our core interests at risk".

"Today the United States, together with our partners and allies, has set out to reshape the global market for critical minerals and rare earths," the Fact Sheet said, issued on February 4 (US time).

"We will build new sources of supply, foster secure and reliable transport and logistics networks, and transform the global market into one that is secure, diversified, and resilient, end-to-end," it added.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, joined by Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer, hosted representatives of 54 countries and the European Commission, including 43 foreign and other ministers, at the 2026 Critical Minerals Ministerial.

"At today's Ministerial, the United States and our partners took action to build secure and resilient critical mineral supply chains. In one day, the United States signed new bilateral critical minerals frameworks and memorandums of understanding (MOUs), announced US government financing opportunities to support strategic minerals projects, and celebrated the launch of the Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE)," the Fact Sheet said.

It said these efforts are complemented by "our collaboration between the United States and its nine Pax Silica partners" to secure strategic stacks of the global technology supply chain.

"Today, the United States signed eleven new bilateral critical minerals frameworks or MOUs with countries, including Argentina, the Cook Islands, Ecuador, Guinea, Morocco, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan," the Fact Sheet said.

The United States signed ten other critical mineral frameworks or MOUs in the past five months and reached completion of negotiations on such agreements with seventeen other countries.

"The United States is demonstrating unprecedented leadership in critical minerals diplomacy. These frameworks lay the groundwork for nations to collaborate on pricing challenges, spur development, create fair markets, close gaps in priority supply chains, and expand access to financing," the Fact Sheet said.

Secretary Rubio announced the creation of FORGE as the successor to the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP).

FORGE, which will be chaired by the Republic of Korea through June, will lead with bold and decisive action to address ongoing challenges in the global critical minerals marketplace.

Understanding the benefits of working together and building on the MSP, FORGE partners will collaborate at the policy and project levels to advance initiatives that strengthen diversified, resilient, and secure critical minerals supply chains.

"Recognizing that governments alone cannot solve this problem, we are committed to close partnership with the private sector, including through Pax Silica, which will lead through investments in mining, refining and processing, end use applications, and recycling and reprocessing," the Fact Sheet said.

"On February 3, the day before the ministerial, we brought leading lights in the private sector together with governments from around the world to discuss supply chain challenges and investment opportunities," it added.

It said the US Government is mobilizing unprecedented resources to secure critical mineral supply chains, supporting projects with more than USD 30 billion in letters of interest, investments, loans, and other support over the past six months in partnership with the private sector.

"These investments, along with Pax Silica and our reinvigorated diplomatic and commercial engagement driven by America First values, are having a multiplier effect, mobilizing private capital many times greater than the US government outlay, which will generate billions of dollars in new projects to secure our supply chains," the Fact Sheet said.

It said these coordinated efforts span domestic and international projects, strengthening U.S. national security and economic competitiveness. Under the Trump Administration, America is leading the global race for strategic minerals and advanced manufacturing.

"This is only the beginning--dozens of additional projects are in the pipeline undergoing due diligence by US funding agencies, with more coming online soon."

US Government support for critical mineral supply chains in the recent past includes Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM)

On February 2, US President Donald Trump announced Project Vault, a landmark initiative led by the Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), which marks an unprecedented step in US industrial policy by establishing a domestic strategic reserve for critical minerals.

The EXIM Board of Directors approved a Direct Loan of up to USD 10 billion for Project Vault, more than double the largest financing in EXIM's history, designed to shield domestic manufacturers from supply shocks, expand U.S. production and processing of critical raw materials, and fundamentally strengthen America's critical minerals sector.

More broadly, over the past year, EXIM has issued USD 14.8 billion in Letters of Interest for critical minerals projects under the Trump Administration, including, in recent months, USD 455 million for rare earth development and processing in the United States; USD 400 million for lithium extraction in Arkansas; USD 350 million for cobalt and nickel production in Australia; and USD 215 million for tin extraction across the United Kingdom and Australia.

Under the Trump administration, the US International Development Finance Corporation has invested in and is exploring more than a billion dollars in new mineral exploration deals and strengthened critical mineral supply chains for the United States and U.S. allies, including USD 75 million initial seed investment for critical minerals and strategic sectors in Ukraine that has mobilized another USD 75 million in non-U.S. government funding.

It also includes USD 600 million into the Orion Critical Minerals Consortium for critical minerals investments worldwide, that has mobilized an additional USD 1.2 billion in non-U.S. government funding; USD 565 million for heavy and light rare earth extraction in Brazil; LOI exploring up to USD 700 million to help finance tungsten development in Kazakhstan; Joint venture negotiations with African trading vehicle that has secured 100,000 tons of copper for the US and 50,000 for US allies, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and Strategic investment partnerships to explore critical mineral investment opportunities with leading Gulf firms.

The Fact Sheet said that this morning Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced an Action Plan on Critical Minerals with Mexico that develops coordinated trade policies and mechanisms that mitigate critical mineral supply chain vulnerabilities.

Also, USTR announced that the United States, the European Commission, and Japan intend to develop Action Plans for critical minerals supply chain resilience.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said "excessive concentration" in critical mineral supply chains poses a major global risk and called for structured international cooperation to "de-risk" them.

"Spoke at the Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington DC today. Underlined challenges of excessive concentration and the importance of de-risking supply chains through structured international cooperation. Highlighted India's efforts towards greater resilience through initiatives including National Critical Minerals Mission, Rare Earth Corridors and responsible commerce. Conveyed India's support to the FORGE initiative on critical minerals," Jaishankar said in a post on X.

- ANI