US steps up AI, minerals race against China

Washington, July 15 (IANS) The Trump administration has received 78 applications for its new artificial intelligence export programme and signed more than 28 critical minerals agreements as Washington intensifies efforts to compete with China in technology and strategic supply chains.

David Fogel, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets, told a congressional hearing that applications for the first wave of the American AI Export Programme were nearly three times higher than officials had expected.

“There’s a lot of exciting things happening with the AI exports program,” Fogel said. “We just announced publicly that we received our first wave of applications, 78 applications for the preset consortia program.”

The applications came from major artificial intelligence companies as well as small and medium-sized businesses, he said.

“That is significantly more, probably three times the number of applications that we were estimating internally,” Fogel said.

The programme is intended to expand the international adoption of American artificial intelligence technology while preventing it from contributing to China’s military modernisation. The Foreign Commercial Service is leading its implementation overseas.

Fogel cast the initiative as a direct competition with Beijing.

“This is a race America has to win,” he said. “Second place failure is not an option. We have to come in first vis a vis China and so we’re working on that aggressively.”

The administration is also seeking to secure access to critical minerals needed for advanced technologies, manufacturing and defence production.

Caleb Orr, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs, said the United States had concluded more than 28 bilateral critical minerals agreements. He said the deals could provide a foundation for US assistance in mapping resources and creating investment opportunities.

“Those agreements, which include, by the way, commitments to, you know, protect the rule of law for US companies, protect US investors, give us the comfort we need to go in and help open up resources for US companies to invest in,” Orr said.

He also backed congressional efforts to codify US membership in FORGE, formerly known as the Minerals Security Partnership. The initiative brings together the United States and partners seeking to diversify critical mineral supply chains away from Chinese control.

Orr said Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted 55 international delegations at a critical minerals ministerial in February, describing it as the largest ministerial in State Department history.

“We very much appreciate Congress’s support and efforts to codify the United States membership in that body,” Orr said.

The hearing also exposed concerns about whether the State and Commerce departments had sufficient staff and clearly defined responsibilities to carry out their expanding commercial diplomacy mission.

The Foreign Commercial Service has about 200 personnel and is present at roughly one-third of US diplomatic posts. Fogel said its offices nevertheless covered approximately 95 per cent of global gross domestic product.

Orr told lawmakers the State Department contributed to more than $515 billion in commercial gains for US companies since January 20, 2025, supporting an estimated 1.4 million American jobs. Commerce reported $428 billion in client-verified deals during 2025.

Critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements are essential for semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries and modern weapons systems. China holds a commanding position in the processing of several of these materials.

–IANS

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