US and Italy sign critical minerals agreement to counter China at UN General Assembly

Bilateral agreement signed in New York

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani signed a memorandum of understanding on critical minerals on 21 September 2026. The signing ceremony took place at a New York hotel on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly. The bilateral agreement establishes a framework to secure supply chains for raw materials essential to strategic technological and economic sectors, including lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and rare earths. Both governments structured the initiative to lower international dependence on Chinese supplies and develop mechanisms with foreign partners to reduce raw material prices. Prior to the signing, Tajani identified raw material security as a top priority for his diplomatic visit to the United States.

Rubio addressed reporters during the ceremony to affirm the diplomatic partnership between Washington and Rome.

“Italy is a great partner of the United States, we are happy to cooperate in this sector.”

Technical working group and market diversification

The memorandum establishes a dedicated Italy-US technical working group on critical minerals to direct operational cooperation between the two nations. According to the Italian Foreign Ministry, the bilateral effort will coordinate technical data exchanges, share institutional expertise, and mobilize both public financing and private investment. These capital flows will target raw material extraction, processing operations, and recycling facilities. Italian officials pointed to domestic recycling enterprises as specialized assets capable of bolstering industrial resilience and international competitiveness.

Tajani stated that obtaining raw materials at reduced costs represents a central requirement for Italy's manufacturing economy.

“The price of raw materials is crucial today and there is clearly an hegemony by China. We must create an alternative market to make our products more competitive.”

The Italian foreign minister noted that the agreement serves as the practical continuation of earlier discussions held in Washington. Tajani also emphasized that the US pact builds on Italy's wider industrial diversification, which included signing a separate raw materials bilateral agreement with Argentina ten days prior to the New York meeting.

Diplomatic recovery and the Pax Silica framework

The New York signing concludes months of negotiations that faced diplomatic disruptions earlier in 2026. Washington and Rome had initially prepared to finalize the memorandum during an Italy-US forum in Miami in June 2026. That meeting was cancelled after President Donald Trump publicly criticized Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni regarding Italy's refusal to support military operations against Iran. Rubio had previously travelled to Rome in May 2026 to address the rift and restore regular bilateral discussions.

The bilateral memorandum also links Italy directly to the US-led Pax Silica initiative, a multilateral security framework designed to protect global supply chains for advanced technologies, including semiconductors and artificial intelligence. Italy initially participated as an observer during a Pax Silica conference in Washington alongside nations such as Australia, Germany, Japan, India, South Korea, Finland, Greece, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Italian officials formally completed accession to the Pax Silica pact on 31 July 2026 in Brindisi.