The goal of the rare earths agreement is to “help both countries ensure the resilience and security of supply chains for critical minerals and rare earths,” the White House said. The USA is currently in a trade conflict with China; Beijing recently tightened controls on rare earths. The US and Japan wanted to “jointly identify projects of interest” to close “gaps” in the supply chains, it said.
Rare earths are a central issue in the conflict between the USA and China. Beijing tightened its export controls for rare earths at the beginning of October. Since then, Chinese companies have required authorization from authorities if they export machinery and technology for mining and processing the materials. Additional restrictions apply to foreign companies with production facilities in China: They also need a permit to export products containing rare earths.
The valuable metals are used in a range of technologies from wind turbines to batteries for electric cars. China is an important producer of the materials and by far the market leader in further processing; Export controls are currently causing problems worldwide.
During Trump’s visit to Takaichi’s official residence in Tokyo, the leader said she wanted to realize “a new golden age of the Japan-US alliance” in which both countries would become stronger and more prosperous.
Takaichi, who last week became the first woman to take over the reins of government in Japan, praised Trump’s efforts in mediating conflicts. The White House said Takaichi wanted to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump, in turn, described Japan as an extremely important ally. He has always loved and respected Japan very much, said the US President.
Japan is the second stop on Trump’s Asia trip. He landed in Japan on Monday after a visit to Malaysia and was received by Emperor Naruhito at the imperial palace that evening.
Takaichi reiterated her intention to “fundamentally strengthen” Japan’s defense capabilities. Japan is faced with an “unprecedentedly difficult security situation,” she said on board the aircraft carrier “USS George Washington” at the US naval base in Yokosuka. Takaichi recently announced that her government would reach its goal of spending two percent of gross domestic product on defense two years earlier than previously planned.
For his part, Trump announced the first delivery of missiles for the Japanese F-35 fighter jets. The weapons he approved would arrive this week, he said. The USA would also cooperate with Japan in the “production of ships”.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is accompanying Trump on the trip, signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese Transportation Minister Yasushi Kaneko to cooperate in shipbuilding – an industry also dominated by China.
Both sides also want to deepen their cooperation in the energy sector and the further development of artificial intelligence (AI). According to Japanese information, Japanese companies such as Toshiba, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric are involved.
In the customs conflict sparked by Trump, Tokyo and Washington agreed in July on a tariff rate of 15 percent on most goods from Japan to the USA. At the same time, Washington expects Japanese investments in the USA amounting to 550 billion dollars (around 472 billion euros).
On Wednesday, Trump wanted to travel to South Korea. There will be the first personal meeting with China’s head of state Xi Jinping since Trump returned to the White House on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Community (APEC) summit.
