The United States is hoping to enlist Australia in a trade battle with China over the control of the global critical minerals supply, as a new survey reveals deep skepticism of the Trump administration among voters.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the fight over metals like lithium, cobalt and copper was a case of "China versus the world."

"We're going to be speaking with our European allies, with Australia, with Canada, with India and the Asian democracies," he told an event hosted by American broadcaster CNBC.

"We're going to have a fulsome group response to this because bureaucrats in China cannot manage the supply chain or the manufacturing process for the rest of the world."

China has introduced tighter export restrictions for rare earth metals, which are crucial for prod

See Full Page