Chile and US eye collaboration on critical minerals and rare earths

Cile e Stati Uniti guardano alla collaborazione su minerali critici e terre rare

A cell phone on a table in a classroom as a new law comes into effect that prohibits the use of cell phones, tablets and smartwatches in schools in Santiago, Chile, March 4, 2026. REUTERS/Pablo Sanhueza (Reuters)

By Fabian Cambero

SANTIAGO, March 12 (Reuters) - Chile and the United States have signed a joint statement to begin discussions on critical minerals and rare earths, Chile’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.

The first meeting will take place within the next two weeks, it added.

The Trump administration has been pushing to reduce reliance on China for critical minerals and rare earths, which are used in electric vehicles, semiconductors, defense systems and consumer electronics.

Chile is the world’s largest copper producer and second-largest lithium producer.

“I believe there is much we can do with the United States and Chile to strengthen the supply chains of these minerals,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau told journalists in Chile, where right-wing Jose Antonio Kast was sworn in as president on Wednesday.

“We will discuss how we can work together,” Landau added.

(Reporting by Fabian Cambero, Editing by Sarah Morland and Daina Beth Solomon)

By Fabian Cambero

SANTIAGO, March 12 (Reuters) - Chile and the United States have signed a joint statement to begin discussions on critical minerals and rare earths, Chile’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.

The first meeting will take place within the next two weeks, it added.

Chile is the world’s largest copper producer and second-largest lithium producer.

“We will discuss how we can work together,” Landau added.

(Reporting by Fabian Cambero, Editing by Sarah Morland and Daina Beth Solomon)

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Chile and US eye collaboration on critical minerals and rare earths

Cile e Stati Uniti guardano alla collaborazione su minerali critici e terre rare

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