By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held a meeting on Monday with ministers from different U.S. partners and allies, urging those nations to increase their supply chain resiliency, the Treasury Department said.
Bessent hosted his counterparts in Washington “to discuss solutions to secure and diversify supply chains for critical minerals, especially rare earth elements,” the department said in a statement.
A U.S. official said on Sunday that Bessent was going to urge those countries to step up their efforts to reduce reliance on critical minerals from China, which has imposed strict export controls on rare earths.
Bessent expressed optimism nations will pursue “prudent derisking over decoupling,” and that they understand the need to remedy current deficiencies in critical minerals supply chains, the department said.
The meeting had representatives from Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and the United Kingdom, the Treasury Department said.
Together, they account for 60% of global demand for critical minerals.
China dominates the critical minerals supply chain, refining between 47% and 87% of copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare earths, according to the International Energy Agency. These minerals are used in defense technologies, semiconductors, renewable energy components, batteries and refining processes.
Last week, China banned exports of items destined for Japan’s military that have civilian and military uses, including some critical minerals.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Jamie Freed)
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