Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hosting senior officials from dozens of nations today for the first-ever Critical Minerals Ministerial Summit. The landmark event aims to establish a "Framework Agreement on Cooperation" to secure supply chains for rare earth elements, which are vital for electric vehicles and defense technology.

A key focus of the summit is reducing global reliance on China-dominated processing networks. Participating nations, including India, Australia, and several Southeast Asian countries, are discussing the creation of "price floors" to protect domestic miners from predatory market pricing.

The summit is being viewed as a strategic precursor to the upcoming meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in April. By solidifying a bloc of mineral-rich allies now, the US hopes to strengthen its bargaining position regarding global trade and technology manufacturing.