11th Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and US India 'rare earth' deal

India - U.S. draw up deal on rare earth elements

What are Rare Earth Metals?

• They are a set of seventeen metallic elements. These include the fifteen lanthanides on the periodic table in addition to scandium and yttrium that show similar physical and chemical properties to the lanthanides.

The lanthanides - 

are a group of 15 metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers 57–71 (lanthanum through lutetium). Also known as the rare-earth elements (along with scandium and yttrium), they are famous for their silvery-white appearance, magnetic properties, and critical roles in advanced technologies like smartphones, lasers, and electric vehicles

The 17 Rare Earths are 

1. cerium (Ce), 
2. dysprosium (Dy), 
3. erbium (Er), 
4. europium (Eu), 
5. gadolinium (Gd), 
6. holmium (Ho), 
7. lanthanum (La), 
8. lutetium (Lu), 
9. neodymium (Nd), 
10. praseodymium (Pr), 
11. promethium (Pm), 
12. samarium (Sm), 
13. scandium (Sc), 
14. terbium (Tb), 
15. thulium (Tm), 
16. ytterbium (Yb),
17.  and yttrium (Y).

properties --

• These minerals have unique magnetic, luminescent, and electrochemical properties 
• 
  

are used in 

many modern technologies, including 

• consumer electronics, 
• computers 
• networks, 
• communications, 
• health care, 
• national defense, 
• clean energy technologies etc.
• Even futuristic technologies need these REEs.
  • For example, high-temperature superconductivity, safe storage and transport of hydrogen for a post-hydrocarbon economy etc.

WHY THEY CALLED RARE EARTH METALS ?

They are called 'rare earth' because earlier it was difficult to extract them from their oxides forms technologically.

• They occur in many minerals but typically in low concentrations to be refined in an economical manner.

 

WHY IN NEWS ?

11th Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (FMM)

ABOUT MEETINGS 

The 11th Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) took place on May 26, 2026, in New Delhi, India. It brought together the Foreign Ministers and Secretaries of the four Indo-Pacific democracies: India, Australia, Japan, and the United States

China’s export controls of rare earth minerals

India and the United States on Tuesday firmed up an important framework for cooperation in ensuring steady supplies of critical minerals, in a move that follows growing concerns over China’s export controls of rare earth minerals and strategic metals vital for technology supply chains.

“The Framework aims 

to deepen India-U.S. cooperation across the critical minerals and rare earths supply chain, including 

1. mining, 
2. processing, 
3. recycling 
4. related investments. 

It seeks to strengthen  

• resilient and diversified supply chains,
• promoting collaboration in financing 
• effective management of critical minerals and rare earths scrap,”

The understanding between India and the U.S. has been under consideration 

at least since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington in February 2025, when secure supply routes for critical minerals were considered a “shared strategic priority”, said a official press note.

A separate framework on critical minerals - $20 billion 

was also signed among the four Quad nations — Australia, India, Japan, and the United States — which aims at 

• mobilising around $20 billion in government and private-sector support 
• to establish stable supply chains for critical minerals.

The initiatives aim at dealing with 

the shortfall of critical metals in global markets that intensified after China imposed export controls on rare earth elements in 2025, after the U.S.’s imposition of tariffs on a large number of partner countries.

‘$30-billion projects’

U.S.-led Pax Silica initiative

The India-U.S. deal was built upon continued engagements between the two countries, including India becoming a signatory to the U.S.-led Pax Silica initiative on February 20, 2026.

A statement issued by the U.S. Embassy said the United States is 

• “mobilising unprecedented resources to secure critical supply chains, 
• 
  

supporting projects with more than $30 billion -  in letters of 

• interest, 
• investments, 
• loans
• support in partnership with the private sector”.

“These coordinated efforts span 

• domestic 
• international projects, 
• strengthening U.S. national security and economic competitiveness,” the statement said.

The Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework 

will help in nurturing projects on critical minerals that are 

• located in ‘Quad partner countries’ 
•  are ‘operated by companies headquartered in Quad partner countries’,
•  thereby plugging supply chain gaps in critical minerals.

domestic laws and regulations

Both the India-U.S. and Quad-level frameworks are expected to allow for greater alignment and harmonisation of domestic laws and regulations to facilitate easier access to the supply chain. 

national security requirements

 

These agreements are also expected to help partner countries to tighten controls to deal with national security requirements.

e-waste and other scrap materials

“Quad partners intend to work together to improve the recovery and use of critical minerals from e-waste and other scrap materials to enhance the supply chain and promote recycling of contained critical minerals within Quad partner and like-minded countries,” said a statement.