US trade advocacy body forms task force on India-US critical mineral cooperation; five priority engagement areas identified

Highlighting overlapping interests of the two countries, USIBC said out of 30 minerals which India identifies as “critical”, 26 minerals overlap with the US priorities. These included rare earths, lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, gallium, tungsten, among others. The task force has identified five priority areas for engagement: lithium refining and cathode active materials (CAM), recycling, feedstock corridors, synthetic graphite production for battery applications, and rare earth processing and magnet manufacturing. Lithium refining remains a critical gap in India’s battery supply chain, with the country currently possessing negligible refining capacity. As electric vehicle adoption is expected to accelerate in the coming…