Pending defence sales figure in India-US talks

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth expressed the hope that Washington would clear several pending defence sales to India in the near future, during a meeting with external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday.

- Shashank Mattoo

WASHINGTON DC: The four-nation Quad grouping announced a new Critical Minerals Initiative during a meeting of their foreign ministers in Washington on Tuesday in a move seen as a response to China's export curbs on seven rare earth minerals that disrupted global supply chains.

"We are deeply concerned about the abrupt constriction and future reliability of key supply chains, specifically for critical minerals. This includes the use of non-market policies and practices for critical minerals, certain derivative products, and mineral processing technology," the Quad foreign ministers said in a joint statement, that did not name China.

Rare earths are a subset of critical minerals, which are elements and substances that are crucial to national and economic security given their importance in manufacturing and defence sectors. Beijing's restrictions announced in April were imposed in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs on Chinese exports to the United States.