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| ▲ U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks during the Critical Minerals Ministerial at the State Department in Washington on Feb. 4, 2026 in this photo released by Reuters. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio holds a press conference during the Critical Minerals Ministerial at the State Department in Washington on Feb. 4, 2026, in this photo released by Reuters. (Yonhap) |
US-critical minerals bloc
Vance calls on allies to join 'critical minerals trading bloc' amid efforts to counter China's supply chain clout
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday called on allies and partners to join an envisioned critical minerals trading bloc, casting them as being "on the same team," as Washington steps up efforts to counter China's formidable influence over key resources.
Speaking at a multilateral meeting on critical minerals in the U.S. capital, Vance said that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is seeking a "preferential trade zone," which will maintain "price floors" through "adjustable tariffs" and guard itself from "external disruptions."
The proposal for the bloc came as South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and top officials from dozens of other countries gathered at the State Department for the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial, a meeting aimed at reinforcing and diversifying supply chains for critical minerals that are key to the production of high-tech military and consumer products.
"We want members to form a trading bloc among allies and partners, one that guarantees American access to American industrial might while also expanding production across the entire zone," Vance said.
He pointed out that the Trump administration is seeking a mechanism to return the global critical minerals market to a "healthier, more competitive" state with a trade zone that consists of U.S. allies and partners.
"We will establish reference prices for critical minerals at each stage of production, pricing that reflects real-world fair market value," he said. "And for members of the preferential zone, these reference prices will operate as a floor maintained through adjustable tariffs to uphold pricing integrity."
The benefits from the trading zone will be "immediate and durable," the vice president said.
"Regardless of how much material flows into the global market, prices within the preferential trade zone will remain consistent over time," he said.
"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 that we've already talked about."
He did not call out China by name. But the proposed trading bloc, if established, is expected to serve as another institution to curb Beijing's influence amid concerns that China's dominance of certain resources, including rare earth elements, has created supply chain vulnerabilities at a time of an intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry.
Vance underscored the need for closer collaboration among the officials from around the world that participated in the ministerial meeting.
"We are all on the same team. We are all rowing in the same direction," he said.
"I believe that in this room, we have close to two thirds of the world's GDP represented, and so we have the capacity to make ourselves more independent, more self-reliant, and that's what should be doing now."
In his speech, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed addressing supply chain vulnerabilities as a policy priority of the Trump administration.
"Our goal (at this meeting) is to have a global market that's secure, a global supply chain that's enduring and is available to everyone, every nation at an affordable price," he said.
During a press conference later, Rubio expressed his appreciation to South Korea for its leadership role in the Minerals Security Partnership, an earlier U.S.-led initiative aimed at developing diverse and sustainable supply chains for critical energy minerals.
"I want to thank the Republic of Korea ... for their leadership on the previous entity," he said.
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