G7, allies discuss ways to reduce reliance on China's rare earths

Finance ministers from the G7 and other major economies met in Washington on Monday to discuss ways to reduce dependence on rare earths from China, including setting a price floor and new partnerships to build up alternative supplies, ministers said.

- MARIA MARTINEZ KANISHKA SINGH

The meeting, convened by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, included finance ministers from G7 members Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and the US as well as officials from Australia, Mexico, South Korea and India.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and representatives from the US Export-Import Bank and JP Morgan also attended, but no joint statement was issued by the meeting's participants.

The Treasury said in a statement that Mr Bessent sought “to discuss solutions to secure and diversify supply chains for critical minerals, especially rare earth elements,” and expressed optimism that countries would pursue “prudent de-risking over decoupling” from China.

A US official said on Sunday that Mr Bessent was going to urge participants to step up efforts to reduce reliance on critical minerals from China, which has imposed strict export controls on rare earths, most recently on supplies to Japan.

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama told reporters on Monday evening that there was “broad agreement on the need to swiftly reduce reliance on China for rare earths.”