[한국방송/김주창기자] 구윤철 부총리 겸 재정경재부 장관은 1.12(월)(현지시간) 워싱턴 D.C.에서 핵심광물 재무장관회의*에 참석하여 글로벌 공급망 안정화를 위한 협력 방안을 논의하였다.
* G7 및 한국·호주·인도·멕시코·EC 등 초청
회의 참석 국가들은 핵심광물 공급망의 취약성을 빠르게 극복할 필요가 있다는 점에 대해 공동 의지를 표명했다. 특히 미국은 구체적인 행동과 투자가 필요함을 강조하며, 디커플링(decoupling)보다는 디리스킹(derisking)을 추진함으로써 각국이 공급망 회복탄력성을 제고하는 것을 촉구하는 한편
함께 협력을 강화해 나갈 것을 제안하였다.
구 부총리는 오픈세션에서 핵심광물 정제·가공 역량이 우수한 우리 기업들을 소개하며 국가간 비교우위를 통한 글로벌 가치사슬 연계를 강화할 필요가 있음을 언급하는 한편, 공급망 안정성 회복을 위한 핵심광물재자원화의 중요성을 강조하였다. 또한 기업들이 구체적인 프로젝트 중심의
협력을 추진할 수 있도록 협력의 장을 마련해야 한다는 점을 강조하였다.
한편, 핵심광물 관련 자원부국인 캐나다, 호주 등은 공급망 회복력 강화를 위해 한국과의 정·제련 및 재자원화 관련 기술협력이 필요함을 강력히
요청하였다.
핵심광물 재무장관회의 보도자료 원문
Secretary Bessent Convenes Finance Ministerial on Securing Critical Minerals Supply Chains
January 12, 2026
WASHINGTON – Today, Secretary of the Treasury Scott K.H. Bessent, convened a meeting of Finance Ministers at the United States Treasury to discuss solutions to secure and diversify supply chains for critical minerals, especially rare earth elements. Participants in the Ministerial included Treasurer of Australia, Jim Chalmers; Minister of Finance of Canada, François-Philippe Champagne; European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, Implementation and Simplification, Valdis Dombrovskis; Minister of the Economy, Finance, and Energy of France, Roland Lescure; Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister of Finance of Germany, Lars Klingbeil; Union Minister for Railway, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology of India, Ashwini Vaishnaw; Minister of Economy and Finance of Italy, Giancarlo Giorgetti; Minister of Finance of Japan, Satsuki Katayama; Secretary of Finance and Public Credit of Mexico, Edgar Amador Zamora; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Korea, Yun-Cheol Koo; and Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, Rachel Reeves. U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer; President and Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, John Jovanovic; and JP Morgan Managing Director, Jay Horine also presented on key areas of focus.
Throughout the course of discussions, attendees expressed a strong, shared desire to quickly address key vulnerabilities in critical minerals supply chains. The United States highlighted actions and investments it has already undertaken, as well as planned steps to create resilient, secure, and diversified critical minerals supply chains.
Secretary Bessent expressed his optimism that nations will pursue prudent derisking over decoupling, and that they understand well the need to remedy current deficiencies in critical minerals supply chains. Noting that these supply chains have also become highly concentrated and vulnerable to disruption and manipulation, the Secretary urged attendees to increase their supply chain resiliency, and thanked attendees for their willingness to both learn from and work quickly with each other towards decisive action and lasting solutions.
