G-7 Countries Announce Critical Minerals Alliance

The United States, Canada, and other Group of Seven (G7) nations have agreed to increase their coordination in order to diversify their critical minerals supply chains, and move away from dependency on China. More specifically, as Reuters reported, in a joint statement leaders of the countries said they would “aim to reduce dependence on any one supplier outside the G-7 and partner countries for rare earths and permanent magnets to below 60 percent by 2030, with an ultimate goal of 50 percent ‘as soon as ⁠possible.’”

The statement also said the countries are “committed to working towards establishing harmonized, interoperable mechanisms … [to] ensure traceability and transparency regarding the origin of critical minerals,” starting with two pilot critical minerals, lithium and nickel. In partnership with the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the G-7 countries plan to establish a “platform” for data sharing and other forms of coordination, including on crisis response. The IEA and OECD will provide “early warnings of market distortions” while the G-7 countries will focus on coordination between finance institutions and credit agencies, and consider tools like price-gap subsidies and joint procurement instruments.

The G-7 leaders also:

• Emphasized the importance of “plurilateral trade agreements”;
• Pledged to increase their domestic stockpiles of critical minerals and expand recycling capacity; and
• Avoid undermining competitiveness or imposing excessive cost burdens.

The National Association of Manufacturers has more information at this link.