U.S. and Australia sign critical minerals agreement

President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday signed an agreement on critical minerals that includes plans for projects worth a total of up to $8.5 billion.

“There will be $1 billion contributed from Australia and the United States over the next six months with projects that are immediately available,” Albanese told reporters at the White House during a meeting with Trump.

Albanese said there will be three groups of joint projects between the two countries, which will include companies such as Alcoa. The U.S. will invest in rare earths processing in Australia, the prime minister said. One project is a joint venture between Australia, the U.S. and Japan, he said.

“What we’re trying to do here is to take the opportunities which are there,” Albanese told reporters.

China dominates the global rare earths supply chain, particularly refining and processing. The U.S. is dependent on Beijing for rare earths imports. Australia, a close U.S. ally, is one of the few countries in the world other than China that processes rare earths.

“In about a year from now, we’ll have so much critical mineral and rare earths that you won’t know what to do with them,” Trump told reporters. The U.S. is also working with other nations to build a supply chain that isn’t dependent on China, the president said.

China announced strict export controls on rare earths earlier this month, pushing Beijing and Washington to the brink of a renewed trade war. Trump has threatened 100% tariffs on Chinese goods starting Nov. 1 or sooner if Beijing does not back down.

“They threatened us with rare earths, and I threatened them with tariffs, but I could also threaten them with many other things, like airplanes,” Trump said.

Trump confirmed he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month. The U.S. president said he will visit China early next year.

“We had presidents that allowed China and other countries get away with murder,” Trump said. “We’re not going to allow that, but we’re going to have a fair deal. I want to be good to China. I love my relationship with President Xi. We have a great relationship.”