NEW DELHI—The United States, India, Japan, and Australia, met for their first leadership-level summit of the Quad alliance on March 12 and decided to convene a working group with the aim, among other things, to hold dialogues on critical-technology supply chains. Rare earth metals are a group of 17 different minerals that are indispensable for today’s critical technologies, including the production of smartphones, military sensors and communication systems, missile systems, and electric cars. “Quad leaders recognize that a free, open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific requires that critical and emerging technology is governed and operates according to shared interests and values,” the White House said in a summit fact sheet on March 12. The rare earth metals took a center stage earlier, in the trade war between the United States and China, which produces more than 80 percent of the rare earth elements. On Sept. 30, 2020, President Donald Trump declared …
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