US‑Japan critical‑minerals pact
The U.S. and Japan struck a critical‑minerals supply agreement that installs border‑adjusted price floors and reorients sourcing — a move likely to tighten competition and push up prices for rare earths and battery metals used in passive and power components. ( discoveryalert.com.au )
USTR published the U.S.–Japan Action Plan on Critical Minerals on March 19, 2026, announcing a program to develop coordinated trade policies and border mechanisms as the foundation for a binding plurilateral agreement. (ustr.gov) The joint statement released during Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s White House visit said the initiative will initially target a “select group” of minerals, will not name those minerals publicly, and will include measures such as coordinated stockpiling and rapid response mechanisms to address supply disruptions and economic coercion. (mining.com) USTR has been leading parallel talks with the EU and Mexico on a trade framework that would set minimum pricing and related border measures, with a public comment period that closed around March 19 and negotiations USTR aims to kick off in April 2026. (bloomberg.com) A commercial example surfaced on March 10 when Japan Australia Rare Earths (JARE) committed to buy at least 5,000 tonnes a year of neodymium‑praseodymium (NdPr) oxide from Lynas through 2038 under a contract that guarantees a $110 per kilogram floor for sales to Japanese industry. (bloomberg.com) That Lynas‑JARE revamp reportedly also includes an upside‑sharing mechanism above set thresholds and a pledge that Japan will secure at least half (up to 75%) of Lynas’s heavy rare‑earth output, moves that pushed Lynas shares up as much as 15% on the ASX after the announcement. (investornews.com) The March 2026 action plan explicitly builds on the U.S.–Japan Framework issued October 27, 2025, which set out joint project selection, prioritized financing, and stockpiling as tools to mobilize mining, separation and processing capacity across both countries. (whitehouse.gov)
