The United States and Japan on Thursday signed a new critical minerals “action plan,” stepping up coordination on supply chains for the in-demand metals and laying the groundwork for a multicountry coalition aimed at countering China’s dominance.
The initiative, announced by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer during Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s visit to Washington, aims to align trade tools, investment and industrial policy by developing coordinated trade policies and potentially using border-adjusted price floors or similar measures on select critical minerals imports.
The agreement is aimed at preventing the U.S., Japan and possibly other markets from being undercut by artificially low-priced suppliers, particularly from China, which controls the vast majority of rare-earth elements mining, refining and casting, plus 90 percent of magnet production.
The plan further calls for identifying specific mining, processing and manufacturing projects in the United States, Japan and third countries that could receive financing and policy support, as well as greater information-sharing on critical mineral deposits through government agencies.
