Business & Economics
U.S. Rebrands MSP as FORGE, Taps South Korea as Chair Until June 2026
At the 4 Feb 2026 Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington, the 56-nation Minerals Security Partnership was relaunched as the Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement (FORGE) with South Korea appointed interim chair through June.
Focusing Facts
- Fifty-six countries—including all G7 members—took part in the inaugural ministerial, hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on 4 Feb 2026.
- Seoul simultaneously set up a China-focused hotline, joint committee, and a ₩250 billion (≈US$172 million) fund to secure rare-earth supplies.
- Washington announced 11 new bilateral critical-mineral MOUs at the meeting, bringing the six-month total to 21 and talks completed with another 17 states.
Context
FORGE echoes the 1974 creation of the International Energy Agency—born after the first oil shock—yet this time the cartel worry is mineral, not petroleum, dominance. Like the IEA, the new forum tries to pool buying power and data among ‘trusted partners’; unlike the 1970s, China sits outside, controlling ~70 % of rare-earth processing. The episode also recalls the failed 1930s tin and rubber commodity pacts—reminding that price-floor schemes can unravel when demand or politics shift. Long-term, the move signals the acceleration of ‘friend-shoring’: supply chains are being realigned along geopolitical lines, fragmenting a 30-year trend of hyper-globalisation. South Korea’s hedging—chairing a U.S.-led bloc while deepening a lifeline to Chinese suppliers—shows the structural bind of mid-power manufacturers caught between rival spheres. Whether FORGE matures into an enduring institution or remains another acronym will shape the material basis of the AI-battery-EV economy for decades; if it succeeds, it could blunt the leverage of any single producer, but if it splinters, it may merely harden resource nationalism and create duelling commodity blocs reminiscent of the raw-material rivalries that fed tensions before both World Wars.
Perspectives
U.S. business media
U.S. business media — Portrays the new FORGE bloc as a concerted American-led effort to blunt China’s dominance in critical minerals by mobilizing allies into a preferential trade zone with coordinated price floors. Coverage centers U.S. strategic competition, casting China chiefly as a threat and glossing over partners’ desire to keep commercial channels with Beijing open.
South Korean mainstream media
South Korean mainstream media — Presents Seoul’s chairmanship of FORGE as a diplomatic win that will let Korea spearhead multilateral cooperation and practical projects to stabilize supply chains. Reports mirror government talking points, celebrating Korea’s leadership while downplaying the geopolitical friction with China that the U.S-led format invites.
Asia-Pacific regional media highlighting Seoul–Beijing cooperation
Asia-Pacific regional media highlighting Seoul–Beijing cooperation — Stresses that, despite joining the U.S. bloc, South Korea is simultaneously deepening coordination with China—setting up a hotline and joint committee—to secure reliable rare-earth imports. Framing accentuates Korea’s pragmatic ties with China and may understate the strategic risks Washington sees in continued dependence on Beijing.