On Wednesday, February 4th, 2026, in Washington D.C., Vice President of the United States JD Vance announced that the U.S. will propose a system to set a price floor for global critical mineral resources.
This information was shared during a meeting involving representatives from over 50 countries aimed at promoting critical mineral resources.
Vance stated that the U.S. is suggesting the establishment of a critical mineral trade group, with many countries already signing onto the plan. Officials from Europe, Asia, and Africa attended the meeting, which aimed to explore ways to establish technology supply chain partnerships bypassing China.
The backdrop of this gathering is President Donald Trump’s initiation of a strategic mineral reserve project called “Project Vault”. This project is backed by $10 billion in seed funding from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, along with $20 billion in private sector support.
Beijing has long viewed its monopoly position in various mineral processing sectors as a geopolitical economic leverage, at times restricting exports and other times driving prices down, thereby weakening other countries’ diversification capabilities for semiconductor, electric vehicle, and advanced weapon raw material sources.
President Trump, during the announcement of the “Project Vault” on Monday, stated, “We do not want to repeat the mistakes of a year ago.”
Vice President Vance, on Wednesday, highlighted that the trade war over the past year exposed most countries’ reliance on critical minerals controlled by China.
During the opening ceremony of the meeting, Vance remarked, “I think over the past year, many of us have learned with painful lessons how dependent our economy is on these critical minerals.”
Vance added, “We hope that member countries can establish a trade group between allies and partners, which can ensure that the U.S. maintains its industrial strength and expands production throughout the region.”
“We are faced with an opportunity to achieve self-sufficiency. We no longer need to rely on anyone else – we just need each other to obtain the critical minerals necessary to sustain our industrial and economic growth,” he further emphasized.