Beijing dismisses a hawkish trade negotiator to ease trade tensions with the US ahead of top leaders’ meeting in South Korea
The Group of Seven nations (G7) and the European Union are reportedly working together to try to reduce rare earth reliance on China after the country tightened its export controls for key minerals and related refinery technologies on October 9.
Media reports said G7 countries and the EU are considering introducing price floors to guarantee profits for non-Chinese rare earth suppliers.
On October 17, Canada’s Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne told the media that G7 nations can move “from dependence to resilience” in the rare earth supply chain, as it has the tools and resources to operationalize an alternative pipeline.
EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said last week that the bloc is coordinating with G7 members on a response to China’s export control on rare earths.
At the upcoming G7 Energy and Environment Ministers’ Meeting in Toronto, Canada, on October 30 and 31, member nations are expected to advance their discussions on rare earth security and the proposed system of price floors for non-Chinese suppliers.
The consensus from the G7 Summit in Kananaskis in June, which called for greater coordination on critical mineral supply chains, will serve as a foundation for the Toronto meeting. Officials say the gathering could yield the first concrete framework for coordinated measures to reduce dependency on Chinese exports.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, where the two leaders signed a rare earths agreement making Australia a key supplier to the US critical minerals chain. The deal, signed at the White House, also reaffirmed the Aukus security pact and its shared goal of cutting dependence on China.
Costs for price floors
The price-floor concept already has a real-world precedent in the US.