This week’s faculty seminar will feature a presentation by Arnav Sharma, Assistant Professor (Law) at NLSIU and Ashutosh Kashyap, on ‘What Makes Raw Materials Critical?: Global Supply Chain Priorities Under Review.’

Abstract

Critical Minerals are considered essential by nations to enable transition towards a cleaner economy. These minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements are used in batteries as an alternative to traditional fuels. As is the case with traditional fuels, there are a few countries having sufficient reserves of critical minerals. Additionally, this space is dominated by a few countries in terms of processing capacity. The scarce distribution of critical minerals and concentration of processing capacity, coupled with a race to secure these minerals for domestic needs, has alarmed various countries to group together or take steps at individual level to diversify critical mineral supply chain.
In this direction, some of the plurilateral initiatives include US-led Mineral Security Partnership (MSP), EU-led Critical Raw Materials Club, and Critical Minerals Working Group in the Indo Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Supply Chain Agreement. There is a myriad of unilateral initiatives, and the ones which stand out are EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act, Spain’s Mineral Raw Materials Action Plan 2025-2029, Future Made in Australia Plan, UK’s Critical Mineral Refresh, Korea’s Circular Economy Policy, and India’s Critical Minerals Missions, among others. According to a database maintained by the International Energy Agency, Asia-Pacific is one of the most vibrant regions in terms of introducing policies for critical minerals.

These initiatives have significant potential in terms of redefining critical minerals supply chain. These plurilateral initiatives, for instance, is witnessing a new era of cooperation and joint initiatives in this area. A key question is: do all these countries share a collective understanding of which material or mineral is critical? Furthermore, the workings of multilateral initiatives like the MSP and the IPEF Working Group on Critical Minerals, are not transparent.

The recent surge in targeted domestic initiatives aimed at regulating the supply chain of critical minerals is a phenomenon that demands systematic research. In this context, the paper seeks to contribute to a collective understanding of critical raw materials and the approaches adopted by various countries in this domain. Moreover, it aims to explore the potential implications of these initiatives, not only in terms of reshaping the supply chain of critical minerals but also in the context of potential violations of certain WTO principles.