“There is no realer thing than oil—and I would add to that there’s no realer thing than critical minerals,” Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday. Vance was addressing ministers from 55 countries, who this week gathered in Washington to discuss a critical minerals trading bloc. Trump has taken big steps toward increasing the U.S. presence in the global market for critical minerals, elements including cobalt and lithium as well as valuable rare earth metals. His prescription was more funding to monitor oil futures trading and higher penalties for those found to be manipulating oil markets. Vance went back even further for a historical analogue to his critical minerals framing.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 06, 2026 06:53 UTC