Leaders of the Group of Seven summit have agreed on a plan to diversify supply chains and break international reliance on single-nation monopolies for critical minerals, setting a firm target to slash foreign control of rare earths and magnets to under 60 per cent by 2030.
G7 leaders and Australian representatives declared the establishment of the G7 Critical Minerals Resilience and Production Alliance. The cross-border coalition aims to diversify supply chains, explicitly targeting the arbitrary trade restrictions and economic coercion that have increasingly weaponised the global technology and energy sectors.
Under the fresh agreement, member nations have committed to reducing their collective dependence on any single non-allied supplier for rare earths and permanent magnets to under 60 per cent by 2030, with a stretch goal of 50 per cent shortly thereafter.
Relevant ministers have also been tasked with establishing similar reduction targets for other essential minerals, including lithium and nickel, before the end of this calendar year.
The joint declaration highlighted grave concerns over non-market policies and retaliatory trade measures that threaten western economic security.
To insulate local industries, the alliance will roll out pilot transparency and traceability mechanisms for lithium and nickel, with plans to expand the tracking scheme to five new minerals annually.
“This would start with two pilot critical minerals – lithium and nickel – and aim to avoid undermining competitiveness or imposing excessive cost burdens. We will seek to extend the pilot to five new critical minerals each year with particular attention given to rare earths,” said the joint statement.
The strategy will be underpinned by massive capital mobilisation. The group welcomed €64 billion (AU$104 billion) in investments across 195 separate critical mineral projects already announced since the start of 2026.
Furthermore, the pact flags the potential introduction of radical market-intervention policies.
Governments are actively exploring joint procurement instruments, price floors, and revenue-stabilisation mechanisms, such as price-gap subsidies, to protect midstream and downstream domestic processors from predatory market manipulation.
A joint cooperation mechanism, supported by the International Energy Agency (IEA), will also share real-time data and alerts regarding future market disruptions or supply chain stress, ensuring member states can coordinate emergency stockpiling and market responses.
