U.S. Initiates Trade Bloc Strategy to Challenge China's Critical Minerals Dominance

U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday introduced a plan to create a preferential trade bloc aimed at securing critical minerals. This initiative seeks to coordinate price floors as part of Washington's strategy to diminish China's monopoly on materials essential to advanced manufacturing.

The announcement follows President Donald Trump's launch of Project Vault, a strategic stockpile of critical minerals, supported by $10 billion in funding from the U.S. Export-Import Bank and $2 billion from private sources. This project addresses China's control over mineral processing, which the country has used for economic leverage, affecting exports and pricing.

Vance stressed that by establishing reference prices for critical minerals, the U.S. aims to prevent market flooding with cheap exports, maintaining fair market values. The news affected mineral company stocks, with notable declines for firms like MP Materials, Critical Metals, and USA Rare Earths.