[Image above] A new U.S.-led initiative, the Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement, aims to strengthen, secure, and diversify critical mineral supply chains. Credit: William Potter / Shutterstock
As transformative technology such as artificial intelligence rapidly evolves, these advancements will require the use of critical minerals and rare earths. To help position the United States at the forefront of a global market transformation for these critical minerals and rare earths, the U.S. government recently launched the Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE).
On Feb. 4, 2026, the U.S. Department of State announced the launch of FORGE during the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington, D.C. The event hosted 55 foreign delegations from allied and partner nations, uniting under collaborative efforts for critical minerals security. Although a U.S.-led initiative, FORGE will be chaired by the Republic of Korea until June 2026.
FORGE serves as the successor of the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), which was a U.S.-led initiative launched in 2022. Comprised of 14 countries and the European Union, the main goal of MSP was to catalyze public and private investment to ensure that critical mineral supply chains were diverse and secure, with a focus on minerals and metals most critical for clean energy technologies.
FORGE and MSP: What’s the difference?
Although these two initiatives may not sound too different on the surface, they vary greatly in structure and strategy.
In 2021, the Biden–Harris administration found that the U.S. heavily relies on foreign sources and adversarial nations for critical minerals and materials. While some focused efforts were made to strengthen supply chains, it was ultimately decided that a widespread collaboration between partnering nations would make more significant strides. So, in 2022, the MSP was launched.
Overall, the Biden-era MSP functioned more like a funding vehicle, in which participating countries coordinated investments to fund mining projects in hopes of reducing reliance on China, which controls most of the market for cobalt, lithium, rare earths and other critical minerals. The MSP partner nations met multiple times throughout 2024, even creating a Minerals Security Partnership Forum to advance discussions with allied countries around the world. However, with the advent of FORGE, the MSP has not been rebranded or restructured—it has been replaced entirely.
FORGE is said to operate more like a preferential trading zone for participating countries rather than a minerals project funding vehicle. The 54 countries will come together to set reference prices at each stage of the supply chain, from mining, processing, and manufacturing to the consuming of critical minerals. The goal is to strengthen, secure, and diversify those critical mineral supply chains, all while avoiding Chinese price dumps on minerals.
How the US plans to forge ahead
The U.S. push for critical minerals partnerships also comes at a pivotal time for the critical minerals and rare earths industry, as China has also begun their own partner initiatives. In November 2025, China began encouraging more countries to join their International Economic and Trade Cooperation Initiative on Green Mining and Minerals. This initiative reportedly has 20 participating countries, with an emphasis on partnering with developing countries such as Africa.
Besides the FORGE announcement, the Critical Minerals Ministerial also included the signing of several other memorandums of understanding and the announcement of a few more plans and agreements between nations. For example, the U.S.–Mexico Action Plan on Critical Minerals will bring the two countries together to “develop coordinated trade policies and mechanisms that mitigate critical mineral supply chain vulnerabilities,” such as price ceilings and floors, according to a press release by the Office of the United States Trade Representative. (No bilateral agreement was signed with Canada.)
The U.S., the European Commission, and Japan also intend to develop action plans for critical minerals supply chain resilience, including discussions on border-adjusted price floors. Argentina and the U.S. also signed an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and Investment.
Full details on FORGE and its functionalities have yet to emerge, but an abundance of partnerships and agreements have created a path for the U.S. to lead in a global market transformation of critical mineral and rare earths supply chains. Coordinated efforts to ensure that these initiatives are well aligned within participating nations will likely become crucial as these efforts develop and expand.
