On May 26, India and the US signed a bilateral critical minerals framework; the same day, Quad unveiled a $20-billion initiative spanning mining, processing, and recycling of critical minerals. These join a growing list of recent US-India partnerships, including FORGE, Pax Silica, the bilateral TRUST, and the Strategic Mineral Recovery Initiative (SMRI). While the details of the India-US framework are not publicly available, the Quad countries jointly released a statement outlining key areas of cooperation.

The US is a minor direct consumer — accounting for less than 5% of global demand — for minerals such as cobalt, nickel, and rare earths. Its imports of components made using these elements are several orders of magnitude higher. India, too, is import-dependent in this sector. Its vast rare-earth reserves remain unexplored, and its processing capabilities are underdeveloped. The instinct to respond through international partnerships in a sector acutely prone to Beijing’s economic coercion is sound and pragmatic.

However, many of these partnerships are yet to translate into assured mineral flows, technology transfers, or capacity-building for processing and downstream manufacturing. These tangible outcomes will require work on five fronts.

First, China’s dominance in rare earths is rooted in subsidy-linked overcapacity that has driven out efficient producers elsewhere. Overcapacity is a structural feature of China’s investment-led model. Establishing alternative mine-to-magnet supply chains would require partner countries to combat this artificial price suppression through aggregate demand, long-term offtake guarantees, and........

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