The Group of Seven leaders unveiled a joint declaration in Evian, France, on Wednesday to strengthen the resilience of critical minerals supply chains. The declaration expressed concern over non‑market policies and practices, as well as the use of economic coercion in global trade.

The leaders highlighted that arbitrary export restrictions and retaliatory measures on critical minerals and dual‑use items undermine economic security and resilience. They pledged to work together with partners to reduce critical dependencies and ensure that attempts to weaponize economic dependencies fail.

The G7 reaffirmed its commitment to diversifying supply chains and strengthening domestic and allied production, processing and recycling capabilities for minerals essential to digital technologies, clean energy and industrial manufacturing.

Building on the Critical Minerals Production Alliance established under Canada’s 2025 presidency, the countries pledged to coordinate investments and industrial projects across the value chain. They set a target of reducing dependence on any single supplier outside the G7 and partner countries for rare earths and permanent magnets to below 60 per cent by 2030, with an ambition to reach 50 per cent sooner.

The leaders noted that 195 projects announced since the beginning of 2026 have already attracted EUR 64 billion in investment. They emphasised the need for greater public and private financing, calling on multilateral development banks, development finance institutions and export credit agencies to coordinate support for critical minerals projects and related infrastructure.

Recognising the importance of market stability, the G7 said it would explore measures such as diversification requirements, joint procurement tools, revenue stabilisation mechanisms and trade‑related instruments to support resilient supply chains.

On transparency, the leaders committed to developing harmonised and interoperable traceability mechanisms for critical minerals, beginning with lithium and nickel, before expanding to additional minerals each year.

They pledged to align these mechanisms with shared interests to ensure traceability and transparency regarding the origin of critical minerals.

The declaration also underscored concerns about forced labour and illegal trafficking in mineral supply chains, promising alignment with internationally recognised labour standards and improved enforcement measures.

To prepare for potential disruptions, the G7 agreed to expand stockpiling capacities and establish a cooperation mechanism supported by the International Energy Agency. This mechanism will share alerts and data on future market stress and supply disruptions.

The declaration further emphasised recycling and circular economy initiatives, with leaders committing to increase collection and recycling capacities, promote reuse and recovery of critical materials, and set recycling targets for selected minerals by the end of the year.

As part of the new framework, the G7 formally established a non‑binding Critical Minerals Resilience and Production Alliance.

This platform will be open to like‑minded partners and serve as a mechanism for cooperation on diversification, financing, transparency, stockpiling and crisis response. The leaders described it as a comprehensive mechanism to strengthen the resilience and diversification of global critical minerals value chains.

ANI