India, US ink pact on critical minerals to break China’s monopoly

New Delhi (IANS): India and the United States on Tuesday signed a landmark strategic agreement to deepen cooperation in critical minerals and rare earths—the foundational materials driving semiconductors, electric vehicles, solar panels, and high-tech defence systems.

The high-stakes pact comes amid intensifying global anxieties over China’s choking monopoly on these critical inputs, which gives Beijing the leverage to disrupt international supply chains at will.

The agreement was signed during the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting here, with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sealing the partnership.

‘Timely and critical’ framework

Announcing the bilateral breakthrough at the summit, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar stated:

“We are today signing a bilateral India-US framework on securing supplies of mining and processing of critical minerals and rare earths. This is something we have also discussed today at the Quad meeting. Whether we are doing it bilaterally, or in the Quad format, or as a larger gathering of like-minded nations, it is something very timely and critical.”

Jaishankar emphasized that the deal goes beyond basic trade, aiming to build a comprehensive, resilient network from the ground up.

“Our goal with this framework is to deepen cooperation across the entire critical minerals and rare earth supply chain. This means we are aligning our efforts across everything from mining and processing to recycling and related strategic investments,” Jaishankar explained.

Countering single-source monopolies

Echoing the urgency to secure tech independence, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained exactly why Washington and New Delhi chose to ink the deal now.

Addressing the press delegation, Rubio said:

“India and the United States have a strategic and shared interest in the fact that vibrant innovation economies such as ours cannot afford to leave the foundational materials of these industries vulnerable to single-source monopolies that could deny us these things—not just in a time of conflict, but as a leverage point contrary to our sovereign national interests.”

Rubio framed the agreement as a defining pillar of the Washington-New Delhi axis.

“I have spoken often during my time here over the last few days about the strategic alliance between the United States and India and how important that is for our national interest in the United States. Today is a tangible example of it. We are two countries that have strategic interests in ensuring reliable long-term access to critical minerals and supply chains that are important for our innovation economy,” Rubio added.

Building the ‘Pax Silica’

According to the US Secretary of State, this moment was the culmination of months of intense diplomatic groundwork.

“The foundational groundwork for this agreement was laid back on the 4th of February, when India participated in the Critical Minerals Forum hosted in Washington, DC,” Rubio noted.

He also highlighted India’s broader alignment with Western tech security, pointing directly to New Delhi’s endorsement of the Pax Silica Declaration—a United States-led strategic coalition engineered to construct secure, resilient, and trusted supply chains specifically for artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and critical minerals.