Overview
- Finance ministers and cabinet officials from the G7, the European Union, Australia, India, South Korea and Mexico convene in Washington on Jan. 12, with a kickoff dinner on Sunday.
- U.S. officials stress urgency and expect to issue a statement after the talks, but they do not anticipate immediate joint commitments.
- India’s electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has arrived in Washington and says he will participate in the ministerial meeting.
- Australia names antimony, gallium and rare earth elements as the first focus of its A$1.2 billion strategic reserve, which will secure rights to domestically produced minerals for on‑sale to allies.
- The push follows China’s dominant refining role across key minerals, as cited by the IEA, and recent reports of tightened exports to Japanese firms, alongside an existing U.S.–Australia agreement featuring an $8.5 billion project pipeline.