Overview
- Trade ministers from the G7, meeting in Paris on Wednesday, condemned the use of arbitrary export curbs that disrupt supplies of rare earths and other critical minerals.
- Unity was tested after President Donald Trump threatened to raise U.S. tariffs on EU-made cars to 25% from 15%, prompting urgent talks by German and EU officials about the Turnberry deal.
- The ministers said they will work with partners to blunt any effort to weaponize dependencies on key materials, with a formal pledge to deter and, if needed, act against coercive trade tactics.
- Washington points to a February critical-minerals ministerial that it says produced 27 deals, and the EU and U.S. last month agreed to coordinate on supply chains, including potential price floors and offtake contracts, though delivery now hinges on financing and project build-outs.
- Countries such as Australia, Japan, Canada, Greenland, Botswana, Oman, India, and Brazil are also cutting their own deals to diversify supply and move into processing, while China’s dominant role and last year’s rare-earth export curbs loom over a Trump–Xi meeting in Beijing next week that is expected to address mineral supplies.