President Trump inks a new rare earth deal with Australia
On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Australia securing critical rare earth and minerals for the United States in exchange for security commodities to the ally country
by Summer Lane | October 20, 2025
President Donald Trump on Monday inked a new deal with Australia, securing critical rare earths and minerals from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in exchange for American military securities and commodities in the ally’s region of the world.
President Trump said that this agreement was negotiated over a period of about “four or five months” and praised the “very good relationship” he had with the Australian prime minister.
“In about a year from now, we’ll have so much critical minerals and rare earths you won’t know what to do with them – they’ll be worth about two dollars,” the president joked.
The United States appears to be forming a strategic security partnership with Australia in exchange for access to these critical elements, based on the comments of both President Trump and Prime Minister Albanese.
“We are great friends and we’re great allies, and this is a relationship that’s been forged in the battlefields of the world – we have stood side by side for freedom and democracy,” said the prime minister.
He described this deal as “taking [our friendship] to the next level.”
President Trump also confirmed that the United States is currently in the process of building submarines for Australia – the summation of a deal that was begun under former President Joe Biden but never finished.
“It was made a while ago,” President Trump said. “And nobody did anything about it; it was going too slowly…we’re starting that process right now.”
President Trump was also asked by the press if he saw China as a potential threat to Australia as the United States strengthens its alliance with the commonwealth country.
“I think China has been very respectful of us,” President Trump said. “…They’re paying tremendous money to us in the form of tariffs, as you know, they’re paying 55 percent.”
The president confirmed that he was still planning on meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea in November. “I expect we’ll probably work out a very fair deal with President Xi of China,” he said.
