The White House is suddenly preaching peachy collaboration with its allies.
What happened: Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand was in Washington yesterday, meeting with Vice-President JD Vance and foreign ministers from around the world to discuss a potential preferential trade zone for critical minerals.
Speaking about the importance of allies cutting reliance on China, Vance told reporters, “We’re all on the same team” — a sentiment we’re sure everyone strongly associates with recent U.S. behaviour.
The meeting comes just a few days after Trump announced Project Vault, a US$12 billion critical mineral stockpile for automakers and tech companies to access during supply chain disruptions.
Why it’s happening: China controls the refining for ~70% of the world’s critical minerals, including lithium, cobalt, and graphite — all materials needed to make everything from smartphones to EV batteries.
Given how hot tensions can run between the U.S. and China, American companies are quite vulnerable to diplomatic rifts, a reality that was made apparent when China temporarily cut off rare earth exports over a trade dispute last year.
Why it matters: The U.S.’s eagerness to build up a mineral supply chain that doesn’t involve China represents a major opportunity for Canada, particularly at the trade negotiating table. Former industry minister James Moore says Canada’s abundance of critical minerals is Ottawa’s strongest leverage in the upcoming CUSMA review.
Yes, but: Prime Minister Carney said back in December that the country’s critical minerals are first and foremost an opportunity for Canada, and that American access to them is not guaranteed.—LA