Trump continues to push forward the "American rare earth chain"! The US and Australia signed a key minerals agreement in an effort to achieve resiliency in rare earth supply.

President Trump of the United States and Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia signed a key mineral agreement on Monday aimed at countering China. During the meeting, Trump also took aim at Australia's ambassador to the U.S., who had previously criticized him. The U.S. President also voiced support for a strategic nuclear-powered submarine agreement with Australia to enhance security in the Indo-Pacific region. While Trump and Morrison exchanged warm greetings, Trump expressed anger towards Australia's ambassador to the U.S., former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, for his past criticisms of him. Rudd had called Trump the "most destructive president in history" in 2020, but later deleted the statement on social media. Trump claimed he was not aware of these critical remarks before and asked where the ambassador was now. When he saw Rudd sitting across the table, Trump said, "I don't like you either, and I probably never will." Despite the tension, the visit seemed to progress smoothly in other aspects, with Morrison and Trump signing a mineral agreement described as a $85 billion "pipeline waiting to be launched" by Trump. The agreement, a copy of which was released by both governments, involves both countries investing $1 billion each in mining and processing projects within the next six months, and setting minimum price floors for critical minerals, a move long sought by Western miners. The White House statement on the agreement added that the investment would focus on critical mineral deposits worth $53 billion, but did not provide specific details on the types or locations. Trump told reporters, "About a year from now, we will have so many critical minerals and rare earths that we won't know what to do with them." The Export-Import Bank of the United States announced investments exceeding $22 billion in Australia's critical mineral projects. The bank issued seven letters of intent to companies including Alafara Resources, NORTH MINING, GrapheneX, Latrobe Magnesium, VHM, RZ Resources and New Day Energy Metals. The investments are intended to support the reindustrialization of the U.S. high-tech manufacturing base and ensure the resilience of Western supply chains. Additionally, the Pentagon plans to build a gallium refining plant in Western Australia. The U.S. has been seeking to increase its access to global critical minerals. Critical minerals include a range of minerals such as rare earths, lithium, and nickel. According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey, China has the world's largest rare earth reserves, but Australia also has significant reserves. These minerals are used in products ranging from electric vehicles to aircraft engines and military radars. Trump expresses support for submarine agreement Morrison received Trump's welcoming support for the AUKUS agreement. The agreement, valued at $368 billion Australian dollars (equivalent to $239.46 billion USD), was reached during President Biden's tenure in 2023. Under the agreement, Australia will purchase U.S. nuclear-powered submarines in 2032 and then work with the UK to build a new level of submarines. Although Trump has been eager to overturn policies from the Biden era, he indicated his intention to support the AUKUS submarine agreement, which his team had initiated a review of months ago due to concerns about the U.S.'s ability to meet its own submarine needs. U.S. Navy Secretary John P. Fellen said during the meeting that the U.S. and Australia are closely collaborating to improve the initial trilateral AUKUS framework and "clarify some ambiguities in the previous agreement." Trump called these "just minor details" and added, "There shouldn't be any more clarification now as we're ready to move forward at full speed and start building." Ahead of the Monday meeting, Australian officials emphasized that the country was bearing its own costs under the AUKUS agreement, having already invested $2 billion this year to boost production at U.S. submarine shipyards and preparing to sustain the U.S. Virginia-class submarines at its Indian Ocean naval base from 2027. The delayed meeting between the two leaders since Trump took office has caused some anxiety in Australia against the backdrop of Pentagon's urging for increased defense spending by the Australian government. The two leaders briefly met last month during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Resource-rich Australia aims to extract and process rare earths, and in April's U.S.-Australia trade talks, it proposed conditions for prioritizing access to its strategic reserves. As part of the rare earth agreement, Trump and Morrison agreed to streamline licensing procedures for mines, processing facilities, and related operations to increase output. The agreement calls for cooperation in geological resource surveying, mineral recovery, and stopping the sale of critical mineral assets "for national security reasons."