US Unveils Plans To Advance Collaboration On Critical Minerals With 54 Countries, Including India

Last Updated:February 04, 2026, 23:13 IST

The United States hosted the Critical Minerals Ministerial aimed at global collaboration to secure supply chains for critical minerals and to counter China's influence.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Critical Minerals Ministerial. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday chaired the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial at the Department of State in Washington, bringing together more than 50 countries to advance collaboration on securing and diversifying global critical mineral supply chains.

Rubio described the event as a “historic gathering" aimed at building momentum for global collaboration to secure and diversify supply chains for minerals vital to national security and technological innovation. The event was aimed at reducing reliance on China, which dominates rare-earth mining and processing.

“We’re planning to sign new critical minerals frameworks with several partners later today. I want to just highlight again, this is really a historic gathering and highlights the billions of dollars the United States government has already committed towards this endeavour," he said at the event.

“That’s going to enable private sector investment towards creating reliable supply chains that are vital to technological innovation, economic strength, and also national security. 55 partners, 54 countries and the European Union are here. I think there are many more countries that are going to be interested in joining this initiative as it moves forward," he added.

India Among Countries Invited

Rubio said 55 countries attended the talks in Washington, among them South Korea, India, Thailand, Japan, Germany, Australia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, all with varying refining or mining capabilities. India was represented by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Rubio highlighted the importance of critical minerals and said, “They power our infrastructure, our industry and our national defence. Our goal is to have a global supply chain that is enduring and accessible to everyone, in every nation, at an affordable price. That is the top priority for this administration".

Earlier, US Vice President JD Vance unveiled plans to rally allies into a preferential trade bloc for critical minerals, saying the bloc had the capabilities to make themselves more independent and self-reliant. “We want to eliminate that problem of people flooding into our markets with cheap critical minerals to undercut our domestic manufacturers," he told the gathering without mentioning China.

This came after US President Donald Trump announced Project Vault, a $12 billion supply chain security initiative that will create the US Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve, an independently governed public-private partnership designed to store essential raw materials at facilities across the country.

The project is expected to bring about $1.7 billion in private capital and a $10 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM). Rare-earth metals are crucial in the production of things ranging from smartphones to fighter jets and electric cars.

According to the Energy Agency, China dominates the supply chain of key minerals, refining between 47% and 87% of copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare earths. In January, China banned the export of items destined for Japan’s military that have civilian and military uses, including some critical minerals.

Following this, the finance ministers of the G7 countries and other major economies, including India, met in Washington to discuss ways to reduce dependency on rare earths from China.

Meanwhile, Jaishankar and Rubio met in Washington on Tuesday, just after India and the United States announced a trade deal, where they held talks on energy, nuclear cooperation, defence and critical minerals. The meeting is part of the External Affairs Minister’s ongoing three-day visit to the US.

The handout released by the US State Department said Rubio and Jaishankar focused on formalising bilateral collaboration in critical minerals, including exploration, mining and processing. The statement said both leaders also reiterated their commitment to expanding cooperation through the Quad grouping.

Meanwhile, Trump is expected to visit China in April after having an “excellent" call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday to discuss a range of trade and security issues from soybeans to Iran, but he made no mention of minerals. Trump had earlier agreed to reduce tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for Beijing’s pledge to hold off on stricter restrictions on rare earths exports.

(with inputs from agencies)

News world US Unveils Plans To Advance Collaboration On Critical Minerals With 54 Countries, Including India

Read More