This is considered Washington's most bold move in its effort to establish a new order for the global supply chain.
The main goal is to minimize China's dominance over essential resources for national security.
Deputy Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg revealed that many US functional agencies have closely coordinated in the past to design this model.
He described this as an "extremely sophisticated" system and is currently the main topic of discussion in high-level negotiations with international partners. Mr. Helberg emphasized that stabilizing prices through a committed floor price is the "key" to unlocking investment capital flows from the private sector.
This move comes less than 2 weeks after the US held a summit gathering representatives from 55 countries. Here, President Donald Trump's administration actively campaigned for a floor price solution as part of a comprehensive global supply chain restructuring plan.
This mechanism is expected to be implemented under the banner of "Pax Silica" - the name of the US-led mineral security alliance.
In fact, the idea of a floor price has long been expected by experts and Western mining businesses as a survival solution.
The reason stems from Beijing's fierce competitive strategy: every time new Western mining projects are emerging, cheap supplies from China often flood the market. This action pushes mineral prices below production costs, causing Western companies to lose money, go bankrupt or be unable to raise capital.
As a result, potential projects are stalled, forcing the world to continue to depend on supply from China. Through the floor price mechanism, the US hopes to prevent this negative impact, ensuring the safety of new investment capital sources.
However, although the idea is highly appreciated strategically, the international investor community is still cautious. Up to now, the US has not yet announced important technical details of this system to market participants.
Major questions remain open such as: What criteria will the floor price calculation formula be based on? What will be the implementation mechanism - will it include additional import tax or direct subsidies from the government to compensate for price differences?
The absence of this specific information makes the market still in a state of "holding its breath" waiting for the next steps from the White House.
