US to push for quicker action in reducing reliance on China for rare earths

By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will urge Group of Seven nations and others to step up their efforts to reduce reliance on critical minerals from China when he hosts a dozen top finance ​officials on Monday, a senior U.S. official said.

The meeting, which kicks off with a dinner on Sunday evening, will include ‌finance ministers or cabinet ministers from the G7 advanced economies, the European Union, Australia, India, South Korea and Mexico, said the official who was not authorized to speak ‌publicly.

Together, the grouping accounts for 60% of global demand for critical minerals.

"Urgency is the theme of the day. It's a very big undertaking. There's a lot of different angles, a lot of different countries involved and we really just need to move faster," the official said.

Bessent on Friday told Reuters that he had been pressing for a separate meeting on the issue since a G7 leaders summit in Canada in June, where he ⁠delivered a rare earths presentation to gathered heads ‌of state from the U.S., Britain, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and the European Union.

Leaders agreed to an action plan at the summit to secure their supply chains and boost their economies, but Bessent has grown ‍frustrated about the lack of urgency demonstrated by attendees, the official said.

Aside from Japan, which took action after China abruptly cut off its critical minerals supplies in 2010, G7 members remain heavily dependent on critical minerals from China, which has threatened to impose strict export controls.

China dominates the critical minerals supply chain, ​refining between 47% and 87% of copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare earths, according to the International Energy Agency. These minerals are used ‌in defense technologies, semiconductors, renewable energy components, batteries and refining processes.

The U.S. is expected to issue a statement after the meeting, but no specific joint action is likely, the official added.

US URGES 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," said the official. "We're ready to move with those who feel a similar level of urgency ... and others can join as they come to the realization of how serious this is."

The official gave no details on what ⁠further steps were planned by the Trump administration, which is pushing forward to ​boost domestic production and reduce reliance on China through agreements with Australia, Ukraine and ​other producers.