Prime Minister Mark Carney says G7 countries and their allies will form a “critical minerals production alliance” to stockpile and develop materials that are essential for defence systems and advanced technologies…He also said Canada has immense potential to become a supplier of critical minerals and rare earths to allies that have grown increasingly concerned about China‘s dominance in the sector…“We will create a critical minerals production alliance, a G7-led strategic initiative to stockpile and develop critical minerals needed for defence and technology,” Carney said in a news conference at the conclusion of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alta., on Tuesday…The strategy did not explicitly mention China, but alluded to its use of export bans, controls and state subsidies to control supply chains and markets for rare earth elements and minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite and copper…Ministers from the signatory countries will also create a roadmap before year-end that outlines plans for the creation of “standards-based markets” for critical minerals to promote responsible extraction, processing and trade…Just three producers, China, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), currently control 86 per cent of the global supply of critical minerals, up from 82 per cent in 2020, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest outlook on critical minerals…Industry watchers say China has cornered the market on critical minerals largely through a combination of state subsidies, strategic investments in global mining and market tactics that depress prices to undercut competitors…The upshot is that China now has an outsized influence on critical mineral supplies essential for semiconductors, smartphones, computer chips, batteries and other technologies used in energy, defence and communications…“It’s a slower process to get mines permitted in Canada because we have to do baseline environmental assessments and then make sure that we have good mitigation strategies in place for the disturbance that a mine will cause,” she said…“We have the rights of Indigenous people to be consulted on any decision that affects them and that has meant that industry has to be a lot more proactive in terms of building relationships ahead of building mines. It’s slower, but it’s also less risky.”

Trade issues were top of mind when United States President Donald Trump landed in Kananaskis, Alberta, for the G7 Summit. As he was met by Prime Minister Mark Carney, Canada’s vast supply of critical minerals loomed large over a potential trade deal between North America’s two largest countries…Canada’s minerals are a natural advantage during trade talks due to the rise in worldwide demand for them. Without the minerals that Canada can produce and export, it is impossible to power modern industries like defence, renewable energy, and electric vehicles (EV)…Nickel, gallium, germanium, cobalt, graphite, and tungsten can all be found in Canada, and the U.S. will need them to maintain its leadership in the fields of technology and economics…Currently, the U.S. remains dependent on China for rare earth minerals, and this is a major handicap due to their rivalry with Beijing. Canada has been named as a key partner and ally in addressing that strategic gap…Canada currently holds 34 critical minerals, offering a crucial potential advantage to the U.S. and a strategic alternative to the near-monopoly currently held by the Chinese…Whether Canada comes away from the negotiations with the US in a stronger or weaker place will depend on the federal government’s willingness to make hard choices. One of those will be ramping up development, which can just as easily excite local communities as it can upset them…Whether it be energy, water, uranium, or minerals, Canada has everything it needs to become the democratic world’s supplier of choice in the modern economy.

The world's largest car-carrying ship - with the equivalent of 20 football fields of vehicles - completed its maiden journey late last month to dock in Brazil's Itajai port…BYD , China's top producer of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, is offering Brazilian car shoppers relatively low-priced options in a market where the green-car movement is still in its infancy. Brazilian auto-industry officials and labor leaders worry that the vast influx of cars from BYD and other Chinese automakers will set back domestic auto production and hurt jobs…BYD has deployed a growing fleet of cargo ships to accelerate its expansion overseas, with Brazil becoming its top target, according to Reuters analysis of shipping data and company statements…BYD, the world’s top producer of electric and plug-in hybrid cars, is the largest among several Chinese brands targeting Brazil for growth. China-built vehicle imports are expected to grow nearly 40% this year, to about 200,000, according to Brazil’s main auto association. That would account for roughly 8% of total light-vehicle registrations…Industry and labor groups say China is taking advantage of Brazil's temporarily low tariff barriers to ramp up its exports rather than investing to build Brazilian factories and create jobs. They are lobbying Brazil's government to accelerate by a year a plan to increase Brazil's tariff on all EV imports to 35% from 10%, rather than gradually phasing in higher levies…Brazil has emerged as a flashpoint in the China auto industry's torrid global expansion. A growing surplus of new cars being pumped out of Chinese factories has led to an export boom over the past five years, helping China pass Japan in 2023 to become the world’s top vehicle exporter. Much of this excess is being shipped overseas, to markets like Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America…In 2023, government officials cheered BYD’s plan to purchase a former Ford plant in the state of Bahia, viewing it as a way to create manufacturing jobs and spur the country’s green transition. But an investigation into labor abuses on the construction site pushed back its timeline for "fully functional" production to December 2026, local officials said in May…Another Chinese automaker, GWM, also delayed by more than a year its plan to start making cars at a former Mercedes-Benz plant. The Brazilian government expects the plant to begin operating this year…Still, the country’s nascent green-car movement leans on Chinese imports, which account for more than 80% of Brazil’s electric-car sales, according to Brazil’s EV association, ABVE.

Officials from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have reached a draft agreement aimed at ending decades of conflict…The breakthrough, mediated by the US and Qatar, provides for the "disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration" of armed groups fighting in eastern DR Congo…It also includes provisions for a joint security mechanism to prevent future flare-ups. The peace deal is expected to be formally signed next week…The deal could open the way for billions of dollars of western investment in the mineral-rich region, which been plagued by conflict for three decades…The decades-long conflict escalated earlier this year when M23 rebels seized swathes of mineral-rich territory in eastern DR Congo…Rwanda denies supporting the M23, insisting its military presence in the region is a defensive measure against threats posed by armed groups like the FDLR - a rebel group composed largely of ethnic Hutus linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide…Peace deals between the two countries have unravelled in the past.