Diplomacy Journal David Kendall | On February 4, the U.S. Department of State hosted the inaugural "Critical Minerals Ministerial." Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were among the American delegation.

“Critical minerals and rare earths are essential for our most advanced technologies and will only become more important as AI, robotics, batteries, and autonomous devices transform our economies,” a post-meeting statement issued by the U.S. State Department read. It explained that “Today, this market is highly concentrated, leaving it a tool of political coercion and supply chain disruption, putting our core interests at risk. We will build new sources of supply, foster secure and reliable transport and logistics networks, and transform the global market into one that is secure, diversified, and resilient, end-to-end.”

A month earlier on January 12, Treasury Secretary Bessent had brought finance ministers together in Washington, D.C. “to discuss solutions to secure and diversify supply chains for critical minerals, especially rare earth elements,” according to the U.S. Treasury Department. Ministers from Australia, Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom were listed as attending, along with leaders of prominent U.S. banks and India’s Union Minister for Railway, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology.

At that meeting, Secretary Bessent “expressed his optimism that nations will pursue prudent derisking over decoupling, and that they understand well the need to remedy current deficiencies in critical minerals supply chains. Noting that these supply chains have also become highly concentrated and vulnerable to disruption and manipulation.”

In the portions of the Ministerial posted on YouTube, Director for Global Supply Chains at the U.S. National Security Council David Copley cautioned, “Of the 57 minerals on our critical minerals list over a dozen aren’t even mined in the U.S., so this is truly a global challenge.”

The Trump administration’s four key initiatives to secure stable supplies, Director Copely explained, are investing in mine projects, stockpiling minerals, protecting mining companies, and rebuilding the U.S. mining eco-system. He cited Seoul-based Korea Zinc, one of the world's leading producers of refined zinc, lead, and precious metals, as an example of the companies currently investing in mining.  

This week’s Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting was far larger than U.S. Treasury-hosted event for finance ministers. The U.S. State Department said representatives of 54 countries (43 minister level, mainly foreign affairs) and the European Commission attended. Many mineral-rich countries were among the list of reported delegations: Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Cook Islands, the Czech Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, the European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guinea, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, the Netherlands, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and Zambia.

In his opening remarks Japan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Horii Iwao, said “We have come to realize that we are in the same boat. As any supply chain disruption would bring significant impact on the global economy, we should work together to address this challenge.” Minister Horii urged collective action by “like-minded countries” and expressed Japan’s support for the newly minted Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE).

FORGE is the rebranded “Minerals Security Partnership.” The MSP was originally formed in 2022 under the U.S. Biden administration and aimed “to accelerate the development of diverse and sustainable critical energy minerals supply chains through working with host governments and industry to facilitate targeted financial and diplomatic support for strategic projects along the value chain.” Australia, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Commission were among the original members, according to the U.S. State Department. 

South Korea assumed the MSP chair position on July 1, 2024, for a one-year term. The Chosun Ilbo reported on February 5 that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed Korea will be serving as FORGE’s chair until its original MSP term expires in June of this year.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, who represented Korea at the Critical Minerals Ministerial, welcomed the launch of FORGE, according to the report, and “also proposed advancing FORGE’s development by promoting investments in critical mineral projects and enhancing communication among stakeholders across the entire supply chain, building on the achievements of the MSP.”