Trump, Japan’s New PM Sanae Takaichi Sign Critical Minerals Pact to Counter China’s Dominance

U.S. President Donald Trump and Japan’s newly appointed Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday signed a framework agreement aimed at strengthening cooperation on the mining, processing, and supply of critical minerals and rare earths, materials essential to industries ranging from clean energy and defense to electronics and electric vehicles.

The pact was signed during Mr. Trump’s official visit to Japan, part of his ongoing Asia tour, which is focused on expanding strategic and economic alliances amid growing global competition over resource security.

According to a White House statement, the agreement will enable both nations to coordinate investments, streamline regulations, and promote fair and diversified markets for rare earths — a sector overwhelmingly dominated by China, which currently processes more than 90% of the world’s supply.

“The United States and Japan will work together through economic policy tools and joint investment to ensure secure and resilient supply chains for critical minerals,” the statement said.

The two countries also agreed to simplify and deregulate permitting timelines for exploration and processing projects, address non-market policies and unfair trade practices, and explore complementary stockpiling arrangements to safeguard against supply disruptions.

The agreement comes at a time when China has tightened export controls on several rare earth elements and increased oversight of foreign producers dependent on its materials. The U.S., meanwhile, has only one operational rare earth mine and is racing to secure access to minerals vital for electric vehicles, advanced manufacturing, and defense systems.

Mr. Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Seoul on Thursday to discuss trade relations, with reports suggesting he aims to strike a truce in the ongoing trade war between the two largest economies.