India and US sign MoU to “Expand and Diversify Critical Mineral Supply Chains”

Shri Goyal holds bilateral talk with USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai to enhance two-way trade between India and US

The 6^th consecutive India-US Commercial Dialogue, chaired jointly by the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, Shri Piyush Goyal, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Ms. Gina Raimondo was held in the U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington D.C.

The Dialogue is convened to improve business and investment climate between the two countries, with a renewed focus on new and emerging technologies. The Dialogue’s priority areas include, 1. Supply Chains Resilience, 2. Climate and Clean Technology Cooperation 3. Inclusive Digital Growth, and 4. Standards and Conformance Cooperation.

Under the Supply Chain track, the two nations signed an MoU to “Expand and Diversify Critical Mineral Supply Chains”. The Agreement will leverage complementary strengths and facilitate mutually beneficial development of Indian and US critical minerals exploration, extraction, processing, recycling, and related activities.

The Minister of Commerce and Industry also held a one-on-one bilateral talk with the U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai and discussed areas of mutual interests. They discussed the pathway for strengthening ongoing bilateral cooperation under the India U.S. Trade Policy Forum, and further ways to add to two-way trade between the two countries.

On the sidelines of the India-US Commercial Dialogue, the Minister held one-on-one meetings with the Chairman of Carlyle Group, Mr. William E. Convay Jr. and Mr. Julian Nebreda, CEO of Fluence Energy, a Siemens and AES Company.

Later in the day, the Minister was hosted by the American thinktank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) for a keynote address under the theme of “India’s Evolving Manufacturing Landscape”. At the address, the Minister outlined India’s renewed push to become the leading manufacturing destination and further integrate into global supply chains.

The Minister concluded the visit with a media interaction, where he reaffirmed India’s commitment to strengthening India-US bilateral commercial and trade relations, facilitate investment, and support India’s innovation ecosystem to generate jobs while keeping pace with technological transformation. 

Critical mineral supply chain diversification agreed; bilateral cooperation to expand exploration, processing, recycling and trade ties. Under the MoU on Critical Mineral Supply Chains, India and the United States committed to expand and diversify cooperation across exploration, extraction, processing, recycling and related activities to enhance supply chain resilience, while the Dialogue prioritized supply chain resilience, climate and clean technology cooperation, inclusive digital growth, and standards and conformance cooperation to guide joint initiatives and deepen trade and investment linkages.