U.S. proposes critical mineral trading bloc countering China’s hold on market

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister and Oakville MP Anita Anand was told by the U.S. vice president today that she and U.S. officials are on the same team.

JD Vance directed the comments to a room full of foreign ministers and Americans, as he pushed for the creation of a critical minerals preferential trade zone.

The U.S.’s call for international co-operation comes as the Trump administration continues to hit allies with tariffs and threats of annexation.

“This entire effort will be stronger and far more competitive if we build it together,” said Vance.

Donald Trump’s number two pitched to international delegates on working together to shore up critical mineral supply chains, just days after the U.S. president created America’s first ever stockpile of the important resources.

“A preferential trade zone for critical minerals, protected from external disruptions through enforceable price floors,” said Vance.

Vance says the Trump administration’s trading bloc plan is aimed at creating a new supply chain to bypass China for 60 minerals considered vital to the U.S. economy and national security.

Right now, Beijing has almost complete control over rare-earth minerals.

Which became a problem last year, as Beijing imposed retaliatory duties and export restrictions on various critical mineral exports to the U.S., after Trump ramped up his tariff-driven trade war.

“We want to eliminate that problem of people flooding into our markets with cheap critical minerals, to undercut our domestic manufacturers,” said Vance.

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Delegates from more than 50 nations attended, including Canada’s own Anand.

She didn’t speak to reporters, but posted a message online thanking the U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio for hosting the meeting.

“There’s a growing global recognition that we need to have supply chains for critical minerals that are reliable and diverse across the world,” said Rubio.

But a lack of willingness is coming from many European nations.

At least two diplomats say president Donald Trump’s stance on Greenland makes it hard for them to want to support the U.S. in this endeavor.

The U.S. State Department says it believes Europe will ultimately join, because countering China is more important.

Rare-earth minerals are used to manufacture batteries, clocks, wiring, military hardware and semiconductors, among many other technological products.

Rubio named Canada as one of the countries he believes has enormous potential to produce and refine these minerals.

But it’s not clear what the Trump administration would want from Canada, in any critical mineral agreement.

Canada and the U.S. Department of Defense already has a co-investment deal — announced in 2020 — to accelerate Canadian mining development and strengthen critical minerals supply chains.

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