US, Australia Agree to Collaborate on Rare Earth Supply

The US and Australia’s officials in Singapore agreed to cooperate further on the rare earth supply, which are critical to the production of clean energy technologies such as electric vehicles.

The meeting between U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and Australian Minister of Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan took place as the United States sought to reduce its dependence on China’s rare earth elements. Australia is the world's second largest producer of key minerals after China.

Raimundo laid the " groundwork" for the negotiation of a new Indo-Pacific economic framework proposed by the United States in the region. The United States withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement in 2017 under the leadership of former President Donald Trump.

In a separate four-party meeting, Raimundo, Tehan, and their colleagues from Singapore and New Zealand agreed to continue to strengthen their efforts to improve the resilience of the supply chain and promote infrastructure investment in the Indo-Pacific region. According to Australia’s government, the four officials also discussed "opportunities to expand economic cooperation amongst like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific region in an open and inclusive manner."

Canberra said that during their bilateral talks, Raimundo and Tehan emphasized the importance of adhering to "strong labor and environmental standards" in establishing a resilient rare earth supply chain. This is a cryptic reference to China because China's labor and environmental regulations are considered to be more lenient than Western countries.

At a regional summit in October, The US President Biden hinted at the development of an "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework", which can be regarded as a TPP consisting of 11 members, formally known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Raimundo said that the United States is likely to start a more formal process early next year to establish a "proper economic framework" for the region.

• < Prev
• Next >