India and the United States on Tuesday signed an agreement to cooperate on critical minerals, including protecting sensitive supply chains and reducing exposure to monopolies, against the backdrop of China’s dominance of rare earths that are essential for clean energy, advanced technology and defence.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed the “Securing Supply in Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths” framework to deepen bilateral cooperation across the supply chain of critical minerals, from mining and processing to recycling and related investments, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
The US Embassy said the framework would allow India and the US to become part of international efforts to “protect sensitive supply chains from coercive market practices” and reduce collective exposure to single-source monopolies. It will also ensure that essential elements needed for advanced technology and energy are “available within reliable networks.”
The move comes months after high-tech industries in India and the United States were affected by restrictions imposed by China last year on the export of important minerals.
China has a dominant grip on the materials that drive the global energy transition, controlling most of the graphite, manganese, cobalt and lithium refining capacity, creating significant dependencies in electric vehicle and battery supply chains.
China also refines 91% of the world’s rare earth elements needed for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles and wind turbines.
This framework, in addition to promoting resilient and diversified supply chains, will enhance cooperation in the financing and effective management of critical minerals and rare earth elements scrap.
Jaishankar described the work being done by India and the United States to secure the supply chain of critical minerals as timely and very crucial.
“This special framework aims to deepen our cooperation across the entire supply chain of critical minerals and rare earths… I think it is a very important initiative,” he said.
Read also:Rubio says Donald Trump is a ‘big fan’ of PM Modi over anti-India rhetoric row
“It is another sign of how close our cooperation is and how important it is today in a world where there are many challenges but also many opportunities,” he said.
Highlighting the importance of the US-India strategic alliance, Rubio said that both countries have a strategic interest in ensuring reliable long-term access to critical minerals and supply chains.
He said that cooperation between the two sides in this field has been strengthened through India’s participation in the important minerals forum led by the United States and the Pax Silica Initiative.
Rubio said innovation economies like the United States and India “cannot leave the core materials of these industries vulnerable to single-source monopolies that can take these things away from us — not just in a time of conflict but as a pressure point,” in an apparent reference to China.
The framework is also in line with the joint statement issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington in February 2025, which emphasized the importance of critical minerals for emerging technologies and advanced manufacturing. India and the US are also involved under the Forum for Geostrategic Resource Sharing (FORGE) initiative.
The US government is mobilizing more than $30 billion to secure critical mineral supply chains, including letters of interest, investments, loans, and other support in partnership with the private sector.
