US President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have signed a rare earths and critical minerals agreement aimed at ensuring a steady supply of the materials as China tries to tighten control over global supply.

China loomed large at the first White House summit between Trump and Albanese, with the US president backing a strategic nuclear-powered submarine deal with Australia aimed at countering Beijing's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific.

Trump, Australia's Albanese sign critical minerals agreement. – Reuters

The two leaders opened their talks in the cabinet room by announcing they would sign a rare earths deal that Trump said had been negotiated in recent months. Albanese described it as an $8.5 billion pipeline "that we have ready to go."

A copy of the agreement, provided by the prime minister's office, said the two countries will each invest $1 billion over the next six months into mining and processing projects, as well as set a minimum price floor for critical minerals, a move that Western miners have long sought.

“In about a year from now, we'll have so much critical mineral and rare earths that you won't know what to do with them,” Trump told reporters.

The United States has been looking for access to rare earths and critical minerals around the world as China takes steps to strengthen control over global supply. Trade tensions between the United States and China have escalated ahead of Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea next week.

China has the world's largest rare earths reserves, according to US Geological Survey data, but Australia also has significant reserves. The materials are used for products ranging from electric vehicles to aircraft engines and military radars.

While Trump and Albanese greeted each other warmly, there was an awkward moment when Trump was asked by reporters about past comments critical of Trump made by Australia's ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, which Rudd has since deleted.

Trump said he was not aware of the comments and asked where the envoy was now. Upon seeing him across the table, Trump said, “I don’t like you either – and I probably never will.”

Following the meeting, the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) issued seven letters of interest (LOIs) for more than $2.2 billion of financing, unlocking up to $5 billion of total investment, to advance critical minerals and supply chain security projects between the two countries.

Trump signals support for sub deal 

Albanese got welcome support from Trump for the $368 billion (US$239.46 billion) AUKUS agreement, reached in 2023 under then-president Joe Biden. Under the deal Australia is to buy US nuclear-powered submarines in 2032 before building a new submarine class with Britain.

While Trump has been eager to roll back Biden-era policies, he signalled his intent to back the AUKUS submarine agreement, months after his team launched a review of the deal over concerns about the ability of United States to meet its own submarine needs.

US President Donald Trump welcomes Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House in Washington. – Reuters

Navy Secretary John Phelan told the meeting the United States and Australia were working closely to improve the original AUKUS framework for all three parties "and clarify some of the ambiguity that was in the prior agreement."

Trump said these were "just minor details".

"There shouldn't be any more clarifications, because we're just, we're just going now full steam ahead, building," he added.

Ahead of the meeting, Australian officials emphasized Canberra is paying its way under AUKUS, contributing $2 billion this year to boost production rates at US submarine shipyards, and preparing to maintain US Virginia-class submarines at its Indian Ocean naval base from 2027.

The delay of 10 months in an official meeting since Trump took office had caused some anxiety in Australia as the Pentagon urged Canberra to lift defence spending. The two leaders met briefly on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month.

The rare earths agreement came a week after US officials condemned Beijing's expansion of rare earth export controls as a threat to global supply chains.

Resource-rich Australia, wanting to extract and process rare earths, put preferential access to its strategic reserve on the table in US trade negotiations in April.

As part of the rare earths agreement, Trump and Albanese agreed to cut permitting for mines, processing facilities and related operations in order to boost production.

The deal called for cooperation on the mapping of geological resources, minerals recycling and efforts to stop the sale of critical minerals assets “on national security grounds."

This was an oblique reference to China, which has bought major mining assets across the planet in the past decade, including the world’s largest cobalt mine in Congo, from US-based Freeport-McMoRan.

US bets on Australian miners to break China's grip on critical minerals

These are the Australian mining companies that have announced details about their receipt of LOIs from EXIM:

Announced today:

VHM

VHM received an updated letter of interest from EXIM for up to $200 million in funding, with an improved term of up to 15 years in potential financing, to support development of its Goschen rare earths and mineral sands project in Australia.

LATROBE MAGNESIUM

Latrobe Magnesium LMG.AX said EXIM was prepared to finance up to $122 million for the firm's stage 2 commercial magnesium plant in Victoria, Australia.

ARAFURA RARE EARTHS

EXIM provided a non-binding LOI in support of Arafura's Nolans project in the Northern Territory, with preliminary discussions of EXIM considering up to $300 million of financing support.

NORTHERN MINERALS

EXIM outlined it would be able to consider financing up to $230 million of potential debt funding to support the development of Northern Minerals' Browns Range heavy rare earths project in Western Australia.

Announced previously:

AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC MATERIALS

Australian Strategic Materials received a LOI from EXIM in March 2024 for a debt funding package of up to $600 million to support construction of its Dubbo rare earths project northwest of Sydney.

EQ RESOURCES

EQ Resources received a LOI from EXIM in June 2025 for a debt facility of up to $34 million to support the Mt Carbine tungsten expansion project in Australia.

VICTORY METALS

Victory Metals in April 2025 secured a $190 million LOI from EXIM for the development of its North Stanmore heavy rare earths, scandium and hafnium project in Western Australia.

SUNRISE ENERGY METALS

Sunrise Energy Metals in September 2025 received a LOI from EXIM for up to $67 million in financing for its Syerston scandium project in New South Wales, Australia.

Projects outside of Australia:

AMERICAN RARE EARTHS

American Rare Earths received a LOI from EXIM in September 2024 for a debt funding package of up to $456 million to support construction of the Cowboy State Mine area at its Halleck Creek project in Wyoming.

ANSON RESOURCES

EXIM offered $330 million in September 2024 to finance the construction of Anson Resources' lithium production plant in the Paradox Basin, Utah.

METEORIC RESOURCES

US EXIM, in March 2024, offered up to $250 million in preliminary support for Australian-listed Meteoric Resources, to develop its Caldeira rare earths project in Brazil.

IPERIONX

IperionX said in April 2025 that the EXIM had approved an equipment finance loan of $11 million to support significant expansion of IperionX’s advanced titanium manufacturing capabilities in the US.

QUANTUM GRAPHITE

Australian miner Quantum Graphite said in July 2024 that it had received a term sheet from EXIM for a loan of up to $300 million to fund the Utile project near the North Atlantic Ocean.

AMAERO INTERNATIONAL

At the beginning of 2025, Amaero International secured a loan of $22.8 million from EXIM as part of the bank's "Make More in America" initiative to strengthen local supply chains.