Chalmers Says Critical Minerals Deal Will 'No Doubt' Feature in Albanese-Trump Talks

Speaking from Washington, where he is meeting American counterparts ahead of the prime minister's official visit next week, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said a critical minerals deal will "no doubt" come up when Anthony Albanese sits down with Donald Trump. Australia, he said, could be a "reliable partner" for the United States as it looks for buyers and suppliers outside a market dominated by China.

"We know that American companies desperately need critical minerals, and Australia is very well placed to service that need," Chalmers said. He described the subject as an important part of his own talks in the US capital, and one that would almost certainly be part of the conversation between the prime minister and the president.

The minerals are a cluster of prized metals that Australia has in abundance but does not yet sell at scale. They have long been floated as an attractive offering for a president whose approach to diplomacy is openly transactional. Last week, trade minister Don Farrell said his US counterpart had raised the issue with him, and that a deal would be struck "one of these days." He suggested it would involve some form of US investment to make Australian mining operations viable, in exchange for guaranteed American access to what is extracted.

The urgency has grown in recent weeks because of Chinese threats to use its dominance to control supply of the minerals, which matter to renewable technology and artificial intelligence. The US also needs them for most of its weapons. Earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called China's move "an exercise in economic coercion on every country in the world" and a step toward "decoupling" between China and the West. He told CNBC that "China cannot manage the supply chain or the manufacturing process for the rest of the world," and vowed to speak with allies, Australia among them, about "a fulsome group response."

Chalmers did not echo the decoupling language. He said Australia's interests were "best served by more trade, not by more trade barriers," and that Australia would work with partners to be a very reliable supplier to the US and other markets. He said Australia was concerned that the critical minerals market was not as reliable and robust as it could be when it came to supply chains. "Australia's got a lot to offer to the world," he said.

At home, the government has been weighing subsidies to give would-be mining investors confidence they would otherwise lack. On the production side, it already offers tax credits and cash injections under Future Made in Australia, its industry support regime, which leans toward "green" uses of the metals. On the sales side, it has pledged $1.2 billion for a "strategic reserve," slated for next year but still being designed.

That reserve may include a physical stockpile, but it is more likely to be an assurance that miners will receive a minimum price. Miners could then sign future purchase agreements with buyers, knowing the government would cover any shortfall if market conditions turned unfavourable. The mechanism could take the form of a financial derivative, a "paper promise" to make up the difference, under which the government would itself profit if prices came in higher than expected.

The aim is to create room for voluntary, profitable deals between Australian miners and foreign buyers, with the government partnering with allies to guide the process. That is where the US could enter, perhaps investing in mining operations in return for preferential access to their output. Similar discussions are already under way with Japan, South Korea and Europe.

China's threats to tighten control not only over exports and refining but also over how the minerals are used have pushed the issue to the front of US thinking, and Washington has begun stockpiling minerals with defence applications. It has other options, including Canada and South America, but Australia's reserves have been raised through official channels and linked to securing Australian exemptions from the Trump administration's tariffs. What to watch next week is whether any investment-for-access arrangement is announced, and how the strategic reserve takes shape.