Summary
- U.S.-Australia rare earths deal aims to counter China’s supply control
- U.S. and Australia to invest $1 billion each in mining projects
- Trump backs AUKUS submarine deal despite prior review
- Trump tells Ambassador Rudd, a former PM: ‘I don’t like you either’
U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have signed a landmark rare earths and critical minerals agreement at the White House, marking a major step in efforts to secure Western access to the vital materials used in electric vehicles, defense systems, and high-tech industries.
The two leaders unveiled the $8.5 billion partnership during their first official summit on Monday, underscoring a shared determination to reduce dependency on China, which currently dominates the global rare earths market.
“This is a big one,” President Trump declared in the Cabinet Room. “In about a year from now, we’ll have so much critical mineral and rare earths that you won’t know what to do with them.”
According to details released by the Australian Prime Minister’s office, both nations will each invest $1 billion over the next six months into mining and processing projects. The deal also establishes a minimum price floor for critical minerals — a long-sought safeguard by Western miners seeking to stabilize global prices.
Prime Minister Albanese described the deal as “an $8.5 billion pipeline that we have ready to go,” adding that it would position both countries as leaders in responsible and sustainable resource production.
China’s dominance in the rare earth sector has become a central geopolitical concern. The United States has been aggressively seeking alternative sources as Beijing tightens export controls and consolidates control over global supply chains.
The new U.S.–Australia deal aims to strengthen supply resilience, with provisions for faster permitting, joint geological mapping, minerals recycling, and measures to block the sale of critical mineral assets to foreign buyers deemed national security risks — a veiled reference to Chinese acquisitions of major mining interests worldwide.
While the rare earths deal took center stage, President Trump also threw his support behind the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact, a $368 billion trilateral defense partnership between the U.S., U.K., and Australia designed to counter China’s military influence in the Indo-Pacific.
Despite initially reviewing the Biden-era agreement, Trump told reporters the U.S. was now “full steam ahead, building,” and dismissed previous uncertainties as “minor details.”
Australia is contributing A$2 billion ($1.3 billion) this year to expand U.S. submarine shipyard capacity and is preparing to maintain Virginia-class submarines at its Indian Ocean base by 2027.
The summit, delayed nearly ten months since Trump’s inauguration, was largely cordial but not without an awkward moment. When asked about past criticisms from Australia’s U.S. Ambassador Kevin Rudd, Trump quipped, “I don’t like you either — and I probably never will,” drawing laughter around the table.
The announcement comes just a week before President Trump is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, as trade and technology tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to escalate.
With Australia’s vast mineral wealth and the U.S.’s industrial capacity, the new alliance could significantly reshape the global rare earths landscape — and challenge China’s near-monopoly in the sector.
“This agreement strengthens our economies, our national security, and our shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Albanese said.
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