India-US and Quad frameworks on critical minerals take shape amid Chinese curbs

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and India’s Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar sign a memorandum of understanding on May 26, 2026 at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India. Photo credit: AP

On the sidelines of the 11th Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Tuesday, India and the United States cemented an important framework for cooperation to ensure steady supplies of critical minerals, a move that follows growing concerns over China’s export controls on rare earth minerals and strategic metals vital to technology supply chains.

In addition, another framework agreement on critical minerals was signed between the four Quad partner countries – Australia, India, Japan and the United States.

“The framework aims to deepen India-US cooperation across the entire supply chain of critical minerals and rare earths, including mining, processing, recycling and related investments. It seeks to strengthen resilient and diversified supply chains while promoting cooperation in the financing and effective management of critical minerals and rare earth scrap,” said a notice on the “framework” titled “Securing the Supply and Processing of Mining and Peat”.

The four foreign ministers will meet on 26 May 2026 with an update

An understanding of this nature between India and the US has been contemplated since at least Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington DC in February 2025, when secure and resilient supply routes for critical minerals were considered a “shared strategic priority”, an official press release on the matter said.

The agreement was built on ongoing commitments between the two countries, including India becoming a signatory to the US-led Pax Silica initiative on 20 February 2026.

A statement issued by the US embassy said the United States is “mobilizing unprecedented resources to secure critical supply chains, supporting projects with more than $30 billion in letters of interest, investments, loans and other support in partnership with the private sector.”

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“This coordinated effort includes both domestic and international projects and strengthens US national security and economic competitiveness,” the statement said.

As part of the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative, the four countries aim to mobilize approximately US$20 billion in government and private sector support to create stable supply chains for critical minerals. The understanding will help in nurturing critical minerals projects located in “Quad Partner Countries” and “operated by companies based in Quad Partner Countries”, thereby closing supply chain gaps for critical minerals.

The initiatives are aimed at tackling a shortage of critical metals on global markets, which has intensified after China introduced export controls on rare earth elements (REEs) in 2025, after the United States imposed tariffs on a large number of partner countries.

Both the India-US and Quad-level frameworks are expected to enable better alignment and harmonization of national laws and regulations to facilitate access to the supply chain. These agreements are also expected to help partner countries tighten controls to deal with national security requirements.

“Quad partners intend to work together to improve the recovery and recovery of critical minerals from e-waste and other waste materials to strengthen the supply chain and promote the recycling of contained critical minerals in Quad partner countries and like-minded countries,” the statement said.

“Quad partners intend to work together to improve the recovery and recovery of critical minerals from e-waste and other waste materials to strengthen the supply chain and promote recycling of contained critical minerals within Quad partners and like-minded countries,” the statement said.

Published – 26 May 2026 13:09 IST