US President Trump said on the 20th that Australia would receive its long-awaited nuclear-powered attack submarine. He also signed the rare earth minerals agreement with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House.
According to reports from AFP and Reuters, the Trump administration stated in June that the US was reviewing the Australia-UK-US Alliance (AUKUS) agreement to ensure it complies with its “America First” policy.
The Australian government has been hoping that Trump would support the AUKUS agreement, signed during the administration of former US President Biden, which would allow Australia to acquire at least three US Virginia-class submarines over 15 years.
Some critics in the US believe that the US Virginia-class submarine production is insufficient to supply both the Australian and US navies.
Sitting side by side with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House on the 20th, Trump told reporters: “We’re really well on our way to building submarines for Australia. We’ve been working on this for a long time, and now we’re starting the process, and it’s going very quickly and very well.”
Trump and Albanese signed an agreement on critical minerals and rare earths. The full text of the agreement has not yet been released.
Trump and Albanese said part of the agreement involves mineral processing. Albanese said the US and Australia will each invest $1 billion over the next six months to advance the joint plan.
Bloomberg News has reported that Australia has the fourth-largest rare earth reserves in the world and has been trying to position itself as an alternative source of critical mineral supplies to China.