U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will urge Group of Seven nations and others to step up their efforts to reduce reliance on critical minerals from China when he hosts a dozen top finance officials on Monday.
– The meeting, which kicks off with a dinner on Sunday evening, will include finance ministers or cabinet ministers from the G7 advanced economies, the European Union, Australia, India, South Korea and Mexico.
– Together, the grouping accounts for 60% of global demand for critical minerals.
– “Urgency is the theme of the day. It’s a very big undertaking. There’s a lot of different angles, a lot of different countries involved and we really just need to move faster,” a senior U.S. official said.
– Bessent on Friday told Reuters that he had been pressing for a separate meeting on the issue since a G7 leaders summit in Canada in June, where he delivered a rare earths presentation to gathered heads of state from the U.S., Britain, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and the European Union.
– Leaders agreed to an action plan at the summit to secure their supply chains and boost their economies, but Bessent has grown frustrated about the lack of urgency demonstrated by attendees, the official said.
– Aside from Japan, which took action after China abruptly cut off its critical minerals supplies in 2010, G7 members remain heavily dependent on critical minerals from China, which has threatened to impose strict export controls.
– The U.S. is expected to issue a statement after the meeting, but no specific joint action is likely, the official added.
– “The United States is in the posture of calling everyone together, showing leadership, sharing what we have in mind going forward,” said the official.
– “We’re ready to move with those who feel a similar level of urgency … and others can join as they come to the realization of how serious this is.”
– Monday’s meeting comes days after reports that China had begun restricting exports to Japanese companies of rare earths and powerful magnets containing them, as well as banning exports of dual-use items to the Japanese military.