G7 leaders agree on strategy to protect critical mineral supply

Group of Seven leaders on Monday provisionally agreed on a strategy to help protect the supply of critical minerals and bolster their economies, according to a draft statement seen by Reuters.

The draft, which a source said had not yet been approved by U.S. President Donald Trump, also said minerals markets should reflect the real costs of responsible extraction, processing, and trade of critical minerals.

China’s decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets disrupted supplies needed by automakers, computer chip manufacturers and military contractors around the world.

Trump last week said Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to let rare earth minerals and magnets flow to the United States. Rare earths and other critical minerals, though, remain a source of leverage for Beijing.

“Non-market policies and practices in the critical minerals sector threaten our ability to acquire many critical minerals,” the draft said.

“Recognizing this threat to our economies, as well as various other risks to the resilience of our critical minerals supply chains, we will work together and with partners beyond the G7 to swiftly protect our economic and national security.”

This included anticipating critical minerals shortages, coordinating responses to deliberate market disruption, and diversifying mining, processing, manufacturing, and recycling, it said. US President Donald Trump on Monday said that it was a mistake to throw Russia out of the G8 and that he wouldn’t mind China joining the G7, in comments he made while attending the Group of Seven summit in Canada.

Britain and the United States should finalise “very soon” the implementation of a trade deal agreed last month, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday ahead of a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Canada.

“I’m certainly seeing President Trump today, and I’m going to discuss with him our trade deal,” Starmer told reporters on the sidelines of a Group of Seven (G7) meeting.

“I’m very pleased that we made that trade deal, and we’re in the final stages now of implementation, and I expect that to be completed very soon.”

Britain was the first country to agree a deal for lower tariffs from Trump, with the U.S.

reducing tariffs on imports of UK cars

, aluminium and steel, and Britain agreeing to lower tariffs on U.S. beef and ethanol.

But implementation of the deal has been delayed while details were finalised.

On steel and aluminium, the US agreed to lower the 25% tariffs on imports from Britain to zero, subject to setting a quota for British steel imports that must meet supply chain requirements.

Britain had avoided tariffs of up to 50% on steel and aluminium that the U.S. imposed on other countries earlier this month, but could face elevated tariffs from July 9 unless a deal to implement the tariff reduction is reached. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday he believed Group of Seven leaders meeting in Canada were united in wanting de-escalation between Israel and Iran.

“I do think there’s a consensus for de-escalation,” Starmer told reporters at the summit in the Canadian Rockies.

“Obviously, what we need to do today is to bring that together and to be clear about how it is to be brought about,” he said.

“But the risk of the conflict escalating is obvious, I think, and the implications -- not just for the region but globally -- are really immense, so the focus has to be on de-escalation,” he said.

Starmer said he spoke with most G7 leaders after they arrived Sunday and had spoken by telephone to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Separately, Starmer said he hoped in a meeting in Kananaskis with US President Donald Trump to finalize implementation of a trade deal between the two allies.

 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday he believed Group of Seven leaders meeting in Canada were united in wanting de-escalation between Israel and Iran.

“I do think there’s a consensus for de-escalation,” Starmer told reporters at the summit in the Canadian Rockies.

 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday he believed there was a consensus at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada on the need for de-escalation in the Israel-Iran conflict.

“I do think there’s a consensus for de-escalation. Obviously, what we need to do today is to bring that together and to be clear about how it is to be brought about,” Starmer told reporters.

The draft, which a source said had not yet been approved by U.S. President Donald Trump, also said minerals markets should reflect the real costs of responsible extraction, processing, and trade of critical minerals.

Leaders also emphasized the importance of building strategic reserves of key critical minerals to cushion against future supply shocks. By pooling resources and aligning national stockpile strategies, the G7 aims to create a buffer that ensures stability in vital industries, from clean energy to defense, during times of global disruption or geopolitical tension.

Agencies