Lula won’t sideline China or anyone in rare earths, tells Trump refining stays in Brazil
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told US President Donald Trump on Thursday that his country’s rare earth reserves are open to investment from China and any other nation willing to process the minerals on Brazilian soil, resisting pressure to side with Washington in its contest with Beijing over critical mineral supply chains.
“We have no preference. What we want is to share with whoever wants to invest in Brazil,” Lula said at a press conference at the Brazilian embassy in Washington after a three-hour meeting with Trump that ran more than an hour past schedule.
“Americans, Chinese, Germans, Japanese, French, whoever wants to participate with us to help us mine, separate and produce the wealth that these rare earths offer us, they are invited.”
Lula said he told Trump that Brazil had approved a new regulatory framework for critical minerals in Congress on the eve of the visit and was treating the sector as a matter of national sovereignty.
He said his government would not repeat what happened with silver, gold and iron ore, resources that Brazil exported raw for decades without capturing the industrial value.
“With rare earths, we are going to change our behaviour. We want Brazil to be the big winner from this wealth that nature gave us,” he said.
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Why the US is worried about China’s growing influence in South America
Why the US is worried about China’s growing influence in South America