U.S. Proposes Critical Minerals Trade Bloc Aimed at Countering China’s Grip

Byline: A Senior Financial Correspondent Dateline: WASHINGTON –

The United States has launched its most ambitious effort yet to break China's stranglehold on the global supply of critical minerals, unveiling plans for a new alliance of nations designed to create a parallel, preferential trade market for resources vital to the technology, energy, and defense sectors.

The initiative, announced Wednesday following a high-level summit in Washington, seeks to unite allies behind a common strategy that includes coordinated price floors and expanded financing for new projects. The move signals a direct challenge to Beijing's long-cultivated dominance in the processing and supply of elements like lithium, cobalt, and rare earths.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at the conclusion of the "Critical Minerals Ministerial," framed the effort as a necessary step to de-risk global supply chains from geopolitical coercion and disruption. The summit gathered representatives from 54 countries and the European Union, alongside senior officials from the Trump administration.

"The acute risks tied to the hyper-concentration of mining, processing, and refining in a single country are now undeniable," Rubio stated, in a clear reference to China. "This isn't about isolating any one nation, but about building resilience, fostering genuine market competition, and ensuring that no single actor can use its resource leverage to disrupt the global economy or undermine our collective security."

FORGE: A New Geostrategic Framework

At the heart of the new strategy is the creation of the "Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE)," a formal partnership to coordinate policy and investment among member nations.

FORGE is designed to be the central coordinating body for the trade bloc, moving beyond simple diplomatic statements to tangible, collaborative action.

"We have a number of countries that have signed on to that, and many more that we hope will do so," Rubio announced. "The purpose of FORGE is to foster collaboration and to build a network of partners across the world."

This new forum will complement "Pax Silica," an existing U.S.-led pact with nine partners focused specifically on securing supply chains for the artificial intelligence industry. While Pax Silica is narrow and tech-centric, FORGE represents a much broader platform aimed at reshaping the entire upstream and midstream critical minerals landscape.

The Strategy in Detail

The U.S. proposal, discussed in detail during the ministerial, rests on several key pillars intended to create a viable and competitive alternative to the Chinese-dominated market.

• The Core Problem: China currently processes an estimated 60% of the world's lithium, 70% of its cobalt, and over 90% of its rare earth elements. This dominance gives it significant control over pricing and availability, a strategic vulnerability for Western nations reliant on these minerals for everything from electric vehicle batteries and wind turbines to F-35 fighter jets and advanced missile systems.

• Proposed Solution: The creation of a preferential trade bloc. Member nations would work to align regulations, streamline permitting for mining and processing projects, and potentially offer each other favored access to raw and refined materials. The goal is to create a self-sustaining ecosystem of "friend-shored" supply chains.

• Economic Levers: A key, and potentially controversial, element is the proposal for coordinated price floors. This mechanism is designed to guarantee a minimum price for minerals produced within the bloc, ensuring that new, capital-intensive projects in countries like the U.S., Australia, and Canada remain commercially viable and are not undercut by state-subsidized Chinese competitors who can flood the market to drive down prices.

• Diplomatic Framework: FORGE will act as the steering committee for these efforts. Its mandate includes identifying promising new resource projects, coordinating public and private financing, and developing shared standards for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) best practices to differentiate the bloc's output from other sources.

Building Momentum

Washington used the summit to demonstrate tangible progress, announcing a flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at cementing this new alliance.

Following the event, the State Department confirmed it had signed new bilateral critical minerals agreements with 11 countries. These pacts build on 10 similar agreements inked over the past five months.

Furthermore, negotiations were finalized with an additional 17 nations, with formal signings expected in the coming weeks. These agreements are the foundational building blocks of the FORGE network, committing signatories to cooperate on shared goals to address pricing challenges, spur mineral development, create fairer markets, and expand access to project financing.

The Road Ahead: Implications and Challenges

The establishment of FORGE marks a significant escalation in the geoeconomic competition between the U.S. and China. The initiative moves beyond rhetoric and lays the groundwork for a structural shift in global commodity flows.

However, the path forward is fraught with challenges.

First, implementation will be complex. Aligning the economic interests and regulatory regimes of dozens of countries is a monumental task. Establishing and enforcing price floors could also face scrutiny under World Trade Organization rules and may be opposed by downstream manufacturers concerned about higher input costs.

Second, China is unlikely to remain passive. Beijing could leverage its current market power to retaliate, either by restricting its own exports of processed minerals or by selectively lowering prices to make Western projects unviable before they can achieve scale.

Finally, the timeline is long. Bringing a new mine or refinery online can take a decade or more and requires billions of dollars in upfront investment. While the new framework aims to de-risk that investment, it will take years before this bloc can meaningfully reduce global dependence on China.

For now, global markets and corporate boardrooms will be watching closely to see which nations formally join FORGE and how quickly the alliance can translate its ambitious strategic goals into active projects and a truly diversified global marketplace for the world's most critical resources.