US, India establish framework for critical minerals partnership

The US and India have signed a bilateral critical minerals agreement establishing the framework of a strategic partnership focused on the security of supply through mining and processing.

This agreement was signed on Tuesday near the conclusion of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visit to India, where he met with External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar as well as foreign ministers of the other two Quad nations (Japan and Australia).

The bilateral agreement builds on the foundational groundwork laid in February 2026 during high-level meetings in Washington, D.C., where Marco Rubio launched the Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE).

Through this framework, the United States and India will engage in international efforts to protect sensitive supply chains from coercive market practices and reduce our collective vulnerability to single-source monopolies, the US Embassy & Consulates in India said in a statement.

However, it did not provide specific terms of the framework or how the cooperation would take place.

US minerals push

Critical minerals have become a central pillar of the Trump administration’s industrial and national security strategy, as Washington seeks to reduce US dependence on China for materials essential to defense systems, semiconductors, electric vehicles and energy technologies.

In recent months, the US government has accelerated efforts to secure domestic supply chains through funding for mining and processing projects, while also strengthening partnerships with allied resource-rich countries to diversify supplies.

India, which officially recognizes 30 critical minerals, has also become a core part of that strategy for its untapped potential. According to government estimates, India has over 13 million tonnes of monazite, a phosphate mineral containing rare earth elements.

Still, for India to become a critical mineral powerhouse, more investments would be needed. The US International Trade Administration (ITA) said in a report this year that the Asian nation currently produces only four critical minerals: copper, graphite, phosphorous and titanium. Earlier this year, New Delhi announced plans to roll out an incentive scheme to bolster its critical mineral processing capacities.

Before India, the US had already entered critical mineral pacts with the other two Quad nations. On Tuesday, the Indian foreign ministry also separately announced a critical minerals framework among the four countries. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that India is also closing in on a critical minerals pact with Russia.

The bilateral agreement follows India’s February inclusion into Pax Silica, a Washington-led initiative to counter China’s dominance in new age sectors such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).