G7 leaders agreed on Wednesday to introduce a 60% limit on imports of critical raw materials including rare earths, to reduce the risk of being too dependent on countries such as China.
According to a joint statement issued from the summit of leading democratic economies in France, the group said: "We aim to significantly reduce our dependencies on a single supplier outside the G7 and partner countries for rare earths and permanent magnets to under 60% by 2030 and continuing to decrease further over time, with an ambition to reach 50% as soon as possible."
China, which dominates the global market for many of these materials, was not explicitly named in the statement.
Rare earths and high-performance magnets are essential for industries including manufacturing, advanced technology and defence.
