G7 leaders agree on strategy to protect critical mineral supply

Group of Seven leaders on Monday provisionally agreed on a strategy to help protect the supply of critical minerals and bolster their economies, according to a draft statement seen by Reuters.

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The draft, which a source said had not yet been approved by U.S. President Donald Trump, also said minerals markets should reflect the real costs of responsible extraction, processing, and trade of critical minerals.

China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets disrupted supplies needed by automakers, computer chip manufacturers and military contractors around the world.

Trump last week said Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to let rare earth minerals and magnets flow to the United States. Rare earths and other critical minerals, though, remain a source of leverage for Beijing.

"Non-market policies and practices in the critical minerals sector threaten our ability to acquire many critical minerals," the draft said.

"Recognizing this threat to our economies, as well as various other risks to the resilience of our critical minerals supply chains, we will work together and with partners beyond the G7 to swiftly protect our economic and national security."

This included anticipating critical minerals shortages, coordinating responses to deliberate market disruption, and diversifying mining, processing, manufacturing, and recycling, it said.

US President Donald Trump on Monday said that it was a mistake to throw Russia out of the G8 and that he wouldn't mind China joining the G7, in comments he made while attending the Group of Seven summit in Canada.