The United States and Japan have formalized a cooperative framework aimed at strengthening the supply of critical minerals and rare earth elements essential to both nations’ industrial and technological competitiveness.
The nonbinding agreement signed earlier by President Donald Trump and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaich, sets forth a coordinated strategy to increase investment, policy alignment, and operational collaboration across mining, ore separation, and mineral processing.
Under the framework, the two governments plan to move rapidly over the next six months to identify, prioritize, and finance projects capable of providing reliable streams of raw and processed mineral products. These projects are expected to serve buyers not only in the US and Japan but also in additional partner markets yet to be named.
A central component of the initiative is the establishment of a US–Japan Critical Minerals Supply Security Rapid Response Group, jointly led by the US Secretary of Energy and Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. This body will focus on designating priority minerals, mapping vulnerabilities across existing supply chains, and recommending expedited strategies for securing and delivering materials critical to both nations’ manufacturing ecosystems.
President Trump’s meeting with Prime Minister Takaichi occurred just days ahead of his scheduled discussions in South Korea with Chinese President Xi Jinping. China remains the dominant global producer of numerous critical minerals, and reducing dependency on Chinese supply has become a core national security objective for the US administration. Japan, which still sources roughly 60% of its rare earth imports from China, has similarly spent more than a decade working to diversify its supply base.
The agreement with Japan follows a parallel development. President Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a separate framework supporting a multibillion-dollar initiative to build out a robust Australia-US critical minerals supply chain. That initiative similarly envisions coordinated public and private-sector investment across upstream and midstream mineral processing capabilities.
Together, these agreements show a broader geopolitical and economic strategy to secure resilient supply chains for materials that sustain defense systems, clean energy technologies, advanced manufacturing, and next-generation electronics.
The US-Japan framework formally signals a fast-moving, allied push to rewire parts of the global critical-minerals value chain away from single-country dependency and toward diversified, allied networks. In practice that means coordinated financing, a joint rapid response body to shortlist priority minerals and projects, exploratory stockpiling and recycling programs, and ministerial-level investment talks within months. The goal is lower geopolitical risk for suppliers of magnets, batteries and other components that underpin defence, EVs, clean energy and advanced electronics.
In addition, the framework is designed to reduce strategic dependence on China, especially for processed materials. However, China’s existing dominance in separation and refining gives it continued leverage over prices, technology, and supply chain timing in the medium term. China may intensify commercial ties such as investment and equipment supply with Southeast Asian suppliers, or use trade measures selectively to protect domestic industry.
Looking ahead, the effectiveness of these initiatives will depend on disciplined coordination, timely capital deployment, and the capacity of partner nations to meet rigorous environmental and operational standards. Although China will remain a central force in mineral processing for the foreseeable future, the US-Japan and Australia-US frameworks represent a strategic realignment toward more diversified and resilient supply chains. Global manufacturers, from EV producers to defense contractors, can expect greater supply optionality and more competitive pricing over time.
