US Vice-President JD Vance announced the Agreement on Trade in Critical Minerals with 55 countries. The three-way partnership will include co-ordination including price floors for critical minerals, the US Trade Representative’s office said. The US also announced an agreement with Mexico and has already reached deals on critical minerals with Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Thailand. This week Trump unveiled “Project Vault” - a nearly US$12 billion ($20b) bid to stockpile critical minerals and effectively anything else needed by US industry. Vance accused former President Joe Biden of failing to address critical minerals, although the Democratic administration launched in 2022 a Minerals Security Partnership focusing on collaborative funding.

Source: New Zealand Herald February 05, 2026 18:42 UTC