Kuala lumpur: Malaysia confirms it will not send rare earth minerals to the US. Malaysia's trade minister told parliament on Tuesday that the country will maintain its ban on rare earth exports to the United States, despite an agreement reached this week.
According to Thai News Agency, Malaysian Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz has told parliament that he has rejected allegations that Malaysia will allow the export of critical and rare earth minerals to the US in exchange for short-term economic benefits or strategic goals, insisting the allegations are false. Malaysia will maintain the ban on raw rare earths exports to protect its own resources, despite signing a critical minerals agreement with the US this week. He also reiterated that the government will instead support foreign investment and technology transfer for mining and processing rare earths domestically to create value for Malaysia.
According to government estimates, Malaysia has around 16.1 million metric tons of rare earth deposits, but lacks the technology to mine and process them. Rare earths are crucial raw materials for high-tech industries ranging from electric vehicles (EVs) to semiconductors and missiles. Earlier this month, Malaysia was in talks with China about processing rare earths, with Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund, Khazanah Nasional, partnering with a Chinese company to build a rare earth refining plant in Malaysia.
The United States signed separate agreements with Malaysia and Thailand during President Donald Trump's visit to Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, aiming to strengthen cooperation in diversifying critical minerals supply chains amid competition from China's efforts in the same area. Malaysia agreed not to impose bans or quotas on the export of critical minerals, or rare earth elements, to the United States.