The Heads of State and Government of the G7 have underlined the strategic nature of critical mineral supply chains for the prosperity and security of their economies. At the same time, they have insisted on the urgency of reducing vulnerabilities linked to these resources, setting a goal of reducing dependence on suppliers such as China to below 60% by 2030 and, if possible, approaching 50% in a shorter timeframe.
"We express our deep concern about the use of market-distorting policies and practices and economic coercion, including arbitrary export restrictions and retaliatory measures on critical minerals and their related dual-use products, all of which undermine economic security and resilience," states the communiqué issued by the representatives of Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom, along with the European Union, following the meeting held this week in the French town of Evian.
In this way, the G7 powers have expressed their willingness to collaborate with partner countries to reduce dependencies considered critical and ensure that attempts or threats to use these economic dependencies as a tool of pressure do not prosper.
"We seek to deter and are prepared to act, in a coordinated manner when necessary, against economic coercion," the leaders have emphasized in their declaration.
"We aspire to significantly reduce our dependence on a single supplier outside the G7 and partner countries in the case of rare earths and permanent magnets, to below 60% by 2030 and to continue reducing it progressively, with the ambition of reaching 50% as soon as possible," they announced in their joint communiqué.
To achieve these objectives, the G7, in collaboration with partner countries, has proposed to strengthen cooperation in extraction, processing, and recycling projects throughout the entire supply chain. Furthermore, it intends to promote coordinated initiatives through demand aggregation and the mobilization of joint financial resources, both public and private.
Along these lines, the leaders have admitted that strengthening industrial capacity—including processing and recycling—essential for diversifying supply requires putting public and private capital into motion. This encompasses direct investments, guarantee schemes, and sales contracts, along with the creation of stable investment frameworks and greater transparency and correct market valuation. All of this is aimed at ensuring supply and promoting the financing of critical mineral value chains to close the investment gap before 2030.
Likewise, they have agreed to advance in the implementation of harmonized and interoperable mechanisms that allow guaranteeing traceability and transparency regarding the origin of critical minerals. The plan is to initiate a pilot project focused on lithium and nickel, striving not to harm competitiveness or generate disproportionate costs, and then expand it each year to five additional critical minerals, with a special focus on rare earths.
Furthermore, G7 leaders have highlighted the relevance that strategic storage of critical minerals can have in strengthening supply security and market stability. Consequently, they have committed to developing and increasing national storage capacity, in addition to sharing information on stockpiling systems, best practices, methodologies, and purchasing and distribution formulas.
In order to anticipate and better manage potential supply crises and reduce price volatility, G7 partners have also committed to creating a joint cooperation mechanism with the support of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and its data infrastructure. This instrument will allow sharing, when necessary, with G7 members and like-minded countries, "data and alerts on future market tensions or disruptions in supply or demand."