This month, President Trump signed agreements with four governments—Australia, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand—to secure critical mineral supply chains for American manufacturers. These agreements are a welcome and necessary complement to the administration’s existing efforts to expand domestic mining and processing capabilities and to invest in research and innovation that addresses long-term critical mineral vulnerabilities.
Closer collaboration with trusted international partners can bolster near- and mid-term supply chain security, lower hurdles to domestic investment, and provide American manufacturers with confidence that necessary inputs will be available and affordable. They can also offer a potent antidote to efforts by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to leverage their dominant position in critical mineral supply chains for economic and geopolitical gain.
For example, China dominates the supply chain for rare earth elements (REEs), controlling 70% of global mining and 90% of processing capacity. The CCP has regularly used export controls on REEs, seeking leverage in trade negotiations and disrupting global supply chains in the process. Encouragingly, the critical mineral deals signed this month paid particular attention to REE and other dual-use minerals facing restrictions.
Though the agreements vary in specificity, each deal reinforces a shared interest in strengthening supply chain security and resiliency, fostering business partnerships, and boosting trade and investment among the signatories. The partnerships also reflect the diverse strengths the U.S. seeks in international collaboration: Malaysia and Thailand possess significant REE reserves and are expanding mining and processing capacity; Japan offers advanced processing and manufacturing capabilities; and Australia has abundant reserves across more than 40 critical minerals and established mining expertise.
The U.S.-Australia and U.S.-Japan critical mineral frameworks represent the most comprehensive agreements to date, establishing targeted cooperation on joint investments, market stability mechanisms, and advanced recycling technologies. For example, the Australian Critical Minerals Framework includes many components to anchor a lasting partnership. These include:
- Cooperation to prevent critical mineral assets at home and abroad from being sold to high-risk buyers, including those connected to the Chinese Communist Party, directly or through intermediaries;
- Creating a separate market open to additional countries that use price stability tools and strict product standards to diminish the potency of Chinese price manipulation;
- Coordinating stockpiling and strategic reserve efforts; and
- Mobilizing investments in projects of joint interest, including using the U.S. Export-Import Bank to support more than $2.2 billion in U.S.-aligned critical mineral projects in Australia.
Framework agreements with our partners are important first steps. Shortly after their establishment, the Interior Secretary and co-lead of the Energy Dominance Council, Doug Burgum, announced that the agreements are a foundation for a “critical minerals club” to promote trade and diversify suppliers. Details have not emerged; however, this is a promising signal that the administration is increasingly prioritizing trade, as well as aggregated market power, to secure U.S. supply chains.
Now, policymakers must follow through on our shared commitments to deliver strategic investment; bring new, diverse resources online; increase supply chain transparency; and create trade frameworks that directly counter the CCP’s aggressive market manipulation. The administration has an opportunity to further these objectives in the upcoming 2026 joint review of the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), which provides a near-term opportunity to incorporate similar friendly commitments into binding obligations with our closest trading partners.
Ensuring that U.S. manufacturers have adequate, reliable, affordable access to critical minerals is a complex challenge that requires expanding domestic production, investing in innovation, and cultivating international partnerships to scale, diversify, and stabilize these supply chains. The administration is pursuing a diverse strategy, and its recent commitment to collaborate with a network of trusted partners should be commended as a powerful addition to our critical mineral policy arsenal.