France calls G7 meeting on critical mineral supply
France called a G7 meeting to curb reliance on Chinese minerals. The plan aims to meet European rare earth demand by 2030 via domestic processing and funding.
France convened an online G7 meeting for Thursday to coordinate a response to China's dominance in critical mineral markets. The initiative aims to secure supply chains for rare earths and permanent magnets used in electric vehicles and defense. For investors, this signals a shift toward state-backed industrial policy to reduce Western reliance on Chinese processing.
### Breaking the Rare Earth Monopoly Finance Minister Roland Lescure announced the meeting from Lacq, a town positioned to become the center of French rare-earth processing. Lescure said China captured its market share through heavy investment and pricing policies that pushed out competitors. The G7 aims to create an international cooperation framework similar to the International Energy Agency's formation during the 1970s oil crisis.
