By Gabriel Ani
WASHINGTON (chatnewstv.com) — The Trump administration on Tuesday proposed the creation of a preferential global trade zone for critical minerals, including enforceable price floors and coordinated tariffs, as Vice President JD Vance warned that existing supply chains are “brittle, exceptionally concentrated, and failing to keep our nations safe.”
Speaking at the opening of the Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington, Vance said the world economy remains dangerously dependent on unstable and politicized supply arrangements for minerals essential to defense systems, energy infrastructure and advanced manufacturing.
“We still have an economy that runs on real things,” Vance said. “And there is no realer thing than oil — and I would add to that there’s no realer thing than critical minerals.”
The proposal, unveiled to ministers and senior officials from major economies accounting for nearly two-thirds of global GDP, would establish a protected trading bloc among allied nations. Under the plan, reference prices would be set for critical minerals at each stage of production, with tariffs used to prevent price undercutting by non-market actors.
Vance said the aim was to stop a recurring cycle in which sudden floods of foreign supply drive down prices, kill investment and leave countries exposed to future shocks. “We want markets that reward long-term planning and strategic thinking,” he said. “That’s exactly what we’re trying to do.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said critical minerals are central to U.S. national security and economic policy, describing the issue as an international challenge that requires multilateral solutions.
“Critical minerals power our infrastructure, our industry and our national defense,” Rubio said. “Our goal is a global market that is secure, enduring and available to every nation at an affordable price.”
Rubio said President Donald Trump has made economic security a pillar of national security, citing executive actions to accelerate mining permits, expand domestic production and rebuild supply chains with allies. He noted that the United States secured more than $10 billion in critical mineral agreements across five countries last year.
Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Horii Iwao welcomed the U.S. initiative, saying Japan shares deep concern over supply disruptions and is accelerating efforts to diversify sources amid rising geopolitical risks.
“No single country can overcome the fragility of critical mineral supply on its own,” Horii said. “Diversity only comes from collective action.”
Vance said the administration has already mobilized up to $100 billion in lending authority for critical minerals, taken equity stakes in mining and processing firms and announced “Project Vault,” the first U.S. strategic stockpile for civilian critical minerals.
“With these moves, we intend to build an ironclad network of new industrial supply chains,” he said. “But this effort will be stronger and far more competitive if we build it together.”
David Copley, the White House’s senior director for global supply chains, said the United States is reversing decades of neglect of its mining sector, investing heavily in projects at home and abroad while overhauling permitting rules that once made mine development take nearly three decades.
“We’re no longer standing around admiring the problem,” Copley said. “We have a plan, and we’re focused on execution.”
Officials said detailed negotiations on what the administration is calling an Agreement on Trade and Critical Minerals would continue during closed sessions of the ministerial, with participation open to allied and like-minded countries willing to commit to coordinated supply chain rules.
Vance urged undecided partners to join quickly. “Before you is a chance to lead,” he said. “To secure your nation’s ability to build, to produce and to defend itself — relying not on vulnerability, but on each other.”
