Washington, USA: In a planned move to challenge China's hegemony in the rare-earth industry, US President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a $8.5 billion agreement on critical minerals at the White House on Monday.

China recently announced that exporting magnets that contain even minute amounts of Chinese rare-earth minerals will require government approval. The Trump administration sees this as a move that could give China greater control over global tech supply chains.

In order to lessen reliance on China, which produces roughly 70% of the world's rare-earth minerals and manages nearly 90% of their processing, the US has been working with allies, as evidenced by the recent US-Australia agreement. It is the dominant supplier of minerals which are vital for electronics, electric vehicles, wind energy, and defence equipment.