Days after securing a trade deal, India and the US seem to be moving forward together on yet another avenue - the Critical Minerals Ministerial, aimed at countering China's global dominance. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attended the critical minerals summit where India was among 54 countries hosted by the Trump administration.
The summit was convened by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US vice-president JD Vance also outlined plans for the new trading zone. "Over time, our goal within that zone is to create diverse centers of production, stable investment conditions and supply chains that are immune to the kind of external disruptions we have already talked about,” Vance said.
During a media interaction later, Jaishankar said that the conference was the primary reason behind his US visit. He also said that India was supporting the Forum on Resource, Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE), an initiative that was unveiled at the critical minerals summit.
“The discussion was very good, critical minerals is a very important subject, the US has been partner for some years,” Jaishankar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
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He also addressed the summit in Washington DC during which he highlighted the risks of excessive concentration and the importance of de-risking supply chains through international cooperation.
{{/usCountry}}He also addressed the summit in Washington DC during which he highlighted the risks of excessive concentration and the importance of de-risking supply chains through international cooperation.
{{/usCountry}}What is the critical mineral trading bloc?
The 2026 Critical Minerals Ministerial is a Trump admistration intiative aimed to reshape the global market for critical minerals and rare earths, an area where China currently finds big dominance.
China leads the production of 30 minerals designated as critical by the US Geological Survey and accounts for approximately 70% of global rare earth mining and over 90% of processing capacity.
“Critical minerals and rare earths are essential for our most advanced technologies and will only become more important as AI, robotics, batteries, and autonomous devices transform our economies,” the US state department said in a release.
Through this bloc, the US and its partner countries whose representatives were hosted at the critical minerals summit would attempt to build secure and resilient critical mineral supply chains.
India's latest move on rare earths
The Trump administration's move comes days after India announced plans to give a boost to its government's rare earths scheme. During the Union Budget 2026-27 presentation on February 1, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government would support mineral-rich states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Odisha to develop dedicated rare earth corridors.
She also announced the Indian Semiconductor Mission 2.0, aimed at expanding the country's semiconductor mission and give China's competitive semiconductor industry a tough fight and break its monopoly.
Even as Jaishankar addressed ministeral meeting in the US, he highlighted India’s efforts in the critical minerals domain through initiatives including National Critical Minerals Mission and rare rarth corridors.
India's backing of the US's latest initiative to counter China's global dominance on critical minerals also assumes significance because it comes days after New Delhi and Washington sealed a trade deal. As part of the agreement, the existing US tariffs on Indian imports were cut down to 18% from 50%.