By Emel Akan and Travis Gillmore
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on Oct. 20 welcomed Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the White House for their first formal meeting, where the two leaders signed a new rare earth agreement.
They were also expected to discuss the fate of the submarine pact established under the Biden administration.
Trump told reporters that they plan to accomplish “a lot” as he greeted the Australian leader outside the West Wing.
“We are discussing critical minerals and rare earths,” Trump said as he hosted Albanese and his delegation in the Cabinet Room.
He noted that the rare earths agreement was finalized in four to five months.
“We’ve been working on that for quite a while. In about a year from now, we’ll have so much critical mineral and rare earths that you won’t know what to do with them,” Trump said.
The Australian prime minister said that the critical minerals and rare earths deal will take the economic partnership between both countries to the “next level.”
“Today will be seen as a really significant day in our relationship” Albanese told reporters.
Australia can supply 30 rare earth minerals to feed demand in the United States, and its government established a strategic critical mineral reserve earlier this year worth approximately $780 million.
In August, Australia’s ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, said at a forum that Australia could be a “great power” in critical minerals and rare earths.
“We have the biggest mining industry and the largest mining companies in the world,” Rudd told the forum, hosted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
Australia needs U.S. support to help it process and refine critical minerals to compete with China. Defense and security cooperation between both countries was expected to be a big part of Monday’s discussion.
“We’re here to talk about trade, submarines, lots of other military equipment,” the president said. “They’re big orders of our great military equipment. We have the best equipment anywhere in the world, by far.”
Following their bilateral talks, the two leaders are scheduled to have lunch.
Albanese, 62, previously made a state visit to Washington in 2023 during the Biden administration.
One of the key topics on the agenda will be the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, called AUKUS, which was formed in 2021 under the Biden administration.
Under the agreement, Australia will buy three Virginia-class hunter submarines by the early 2030s, with an option to buy two more.
The pact will also deliver a new submarine class, called the SSN-AUKUS, with the United Kingdom to produce the first SSN-AUKUS to the Royal Navy in the 2030s, and Canberra to deliver the submarine built in Australia to the Royal Australian Navy in the early 2040s.
In June, the Pentagon said that it would review the trilateral deal to determine whether it’s consistent with Trump’s current agenda.
The news quickly made headlines and sparked concern in Australia.
During the meeting, Albanese is expected to seek reassurance from Trump that he will uphold the agreement.
Growing China Treat
Australia views China as an increasing threat.
During the meeting, Trump noted that Beijing is paying high tariffs to the United States. He also reiterated his plans to meet with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping soon.
“I think China has been very respectful of us,” Trump said, while highlighting the billions of dollars in tariffs paid by the communist country.
Existing 55 percent levies will increase to 155 percent if Xi and Trump don’t come to terms when the two meet in South Korea in the next two weeks.
“I expect we’ll probably work out a deal with President Xi of China,” Trump said. “It’s going to be very exciting. I think we’re going to work something out that’s good for both countries.”
Trump said the United States has leverage because domestic companies sell many airplanes, parts, and components to China.
“They threatened us with rare earths, and I threatened them with tariffs, but I could also threaten them with many other things, like airplanes,” Trump said. “You know about airplanes because they can’t get parts for their airplanes. We build their airplanes.”
He suggested China is in a losing position regarding trade.
“I believe that they’re in big trouble, and I don’t want them to be in big trouble,” Trump said.
