The European Union and the United States are moving toward a significant agreement on critical minerals supply chains. This deal aims to lessen their heavy reliance on China’s near-monopoly over resources crucial for modern technology and defense systems. In early February 2026, the EU, US, and Japan agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding within 30 days. This document focuses on improving the security of critical minerals supply chains. The partnership will pinpoint areas for collaboration to boost demand and diversify supply through joint projects in mining, refining, processing, and recycling.
China currently controls the global critical minerals market, holding about 90 percent of the processing capacity for materials like lithium, graphite, cobalt, rare earth elements, and other resources vital for electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, semiconductors, and military equipment. Beijing has used this dominance to impose export restrictions, which give it strong geopolitical power over Western supply chains. The proposed EU-US framework includes several important elements. These are joint exploration of critical mineral projects, price-support systems to guard against Chinese market manipulation, possible stockpiling agreements, and coordinated pricing strategies. US Vice President JD Vance announced plans for a trading bloc with minimum prices to protect producers from low Chinese exports that could threaten Western mining operations.
US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum noted that around 30 countries have shown interest in joining this critical minerals alliance. This initiative reflects a rare instance of trade cooperation during the Trump administration, which has mainly pushed for aggressive tariff policies. The EU, which gets all its heavy rare earth elements from China, faces particular risks. The bloc’s Critical Raw Materials Act aims to source 10 percent of consumption domestically and refine 40 percent of materials within Europe by 2030, with no single country accounting for more than 65 percent of any strategic material. Both parties recognize the urgency. US officials stress that China’s ability to flood markets with low-cost minerals threatens the economic viability of Western production.