The Group of Seven leaders have agreed on a plan to reduce dependence on China for rare earths and critical minerals used in key defense and technology applications, the latest effort by the West to address a key point of leverage for China in trade and geopolitical negotiations.
Leaders of the G7 released a joint statement on Wednesday stating that no single country outside of the group and its partners should supply more than 60% of rare earths and permanent magnets by 2030, with the hopes of reaching 50% as soon as possible. The joint statement did not name China, but Beijing is the global supplier of both rare earths and permanent magnets and has used its supply chain dominance against the United States and others in high-stakes talks.
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In response to President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs last year, China began choking the supply chain by imposing export controls on several key rare earths. In November, the president reached an agreement with China to lift some export controls on rare earths for a year.
The G7, which is meeting in France this week, includes the host country, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Rare earths and permanent magnets are essential for building defense and energy technologies, including consumer products. The U.S. has created partnerships with allies over the past year to coordinate on diversifying the critical mineral supply chain outside of China.
G7 leaders committed to working together to boost critical mineral production.
“We will work together with partners to reduce critical dependencies and ensure that attempts or threats to weaponize economic dependencies fail,” the leaders wrote. “We seek to deter and stand ready to take actions, where necessary in a coordinated manner, against economic coercion.”
The leaders said they will work together to advance production, processing, recycling, and develop projects for critical minerals. They called for working with the International Energy Agency as a technical platform and data partner. G7 leaders also noted the importance of improving transparency and traceability systems to track critical mineral supplies and combat illegal trafficking of critical minerals.
The G7 nations would work with IEA, along with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, on a traceability system. The initiative would begin with two pilot programs for lithium and nickel. It would be extended each year to five new critical minerals, with a focus on rare earths.
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The leaders also noted they plan to “sharply increase” the recycling rates for critical raw materials. They plan to work toward recycling targets by the end of the year for selected critical minerals and derivatives. In order to meet these long-term objectives, leaders agreed to establish a nonbinding G7 Critical Minerals Resilience and Production Alliance.
The Trump administration has taken a broad approach to boosting the critical mineral and rare-earth supply chain in the U.S. The administration has taken stakes in several critical mineral and rare earth companies, established a trading bloc, created a strategic critical mineral reserve, and partnered with a number of countries to diversify supply.
