THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2025 35 Fortifying Minerals Diplomacy FOUR NATIONS, FOUR SOLUTIONS ON ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY The Quad—an alliance of the U.S., India, Japan, and Australia—is emerging as a strategic force in critical minerals diplomacy while countering China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. BY MAHNAZ KHAN FOCUS Mahnaz Khan is the vice president of policy for critical supply chains at Silverado Policy Accelerator, a bipartisan geopolitical think tank. Before joining Silverado in 2024, she spent 14 years as a career Civil Servant in trade policy at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. International Trade Commission, and U.S. Department of Commerce. She is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center. President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14154, “Unleashing American Energy,” released the day of the inauguration, indicated that the new administration is prioritizing U.S. mining and mineral processing and, in particular, non-fuel minerals including rare earth minerals. Further, the order mandates the Secretary of State to pursue opportunities along these lines through the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the Quad. An alliance of the United States, India, Japan, and Australia, the Quad aims to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific through military cooperation, economic security, and technological collaboration while promoting a free and open regional order. Initially formalized in 2007, the Quad remained largely inactive until it was revived in 2017 during President Trump’s first term, and now, all signs suggest it is poised for a stronger resurgence. Notably, no other executive orders have outlined alternative frameworks for securing critical minerals. And just one day after the inauguration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio convened a high-level Quad meeting, where leaders reaffirmed their commitment to economic and technological security while fortifying supply chains against mounting global threats. ART–ISTOCKPHOTO/HANSCHE
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