U.S. & AUSTRALIA SIGN MINERALS PACT – Trump, Albanese ink £8.5bn rare earths deal to counter China’s global supply dominance
U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have signed a new rare earths and critical minerals deal — aimed at countering China’s dominance in the global supply chain.
Meeting at the White House on Monday, the two leaders said the agreement — worth 8.5 billion dollars — was months in the making.
Both countries will invest 1 billion each over the next six months to boost mining and processing of rare earth materials essential for defence and clean energy technologies.
The U.S. has been seeking to reduce its reliance on China, which currently controls most of the world’s rare earth reserves. Australia, meanwhile, is one of the few countries with comparable deposits.
Trump and Albanese are also expected to discuss the AUKUS submarine pact, valued at over 230 billion pounds, which will see Australia acquire U.S. nuclear-powered submarines before jointly building a new class with the U.K.
