The EU and the US have sealed a strategic partnership in the field of critical mineral resources. They are launching an action plan to strengthen safe and resilient supplies.
The European Commission (EC) announced that the EU and the United States on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding on a strategic partnership in the field of critical minerals and agreed on an EU-US action plan for critical minerals. The TASR reporter informs about it.
- The EU and the US signed a memorandum on critical raw materials.
- The aim is to strengthen supply chains and cooperation.
- The plan includes mining, processing, recycling and innovation.
- Both sides want to create common standards and mechanisms.
- Cooperation will also continue in international forums.
The Commission specified that these initiatives reflect the EU’s commitment to deepen cooperation in the field of critical raw materials and that this is a key step to strengthen the resilience and diversification of supply chains at a time of common geopolitical and economic challenges. The memorandum was signed in Washington by European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
This document formalizes the EU-US strategic partnership to build safe and sustainable supply chains for critical minerals. It envisages bilateral cooperation across the entire value chain – from exploration, extraction, processing and refining to recycling and recovery, while supporting innovation, investment and geological mapping, as well as supply and demand side measures.
The new plan will open the way for cooperation
In addition, Šefčovič and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer presented the EU-US Action Plan for Critical Minerals Supply Chain Resilience, paving the way for a possible multilateral trade initiative with global partners.
“It is encouraging to see that cooperation between the EU and the US in the field of critical raw materials is taking a concrete form. The vision exists, now the real test is its implementation, i.e. to transform common ambitions into projects with real impact. This will determine our success,” Šefčovič said in a press release. According to him, critical raw materials are at the heart of any future-oriented industry, and therefore resilience is key and addressing vulnerabilities is essential.
Under the Action Plan, the EU and the US intend to work together to review a wide range of trade policies and instruments to strengthen coordinated international action. These may include border-adjusted price floors, standards-based markets, price-gap subsidies and off-take agreements. Cooperation is also expected to focus on the development of common standards for extraction, processing and recycling, investment support, joint research and innovation, stockpiling strategies and rapid response mechanisms in the event of supply disruptions.
Both sides plan to continue working on resilience of critical minerals in relevant international forums, including the G7 and the Forum for Geostationary Resource Engagement (FORGE).
