G7 export credit agencies push new support for critical minerals supply chains

G7 export credit agencies have agreed to deepen cooperation on critical minerals, strategic industries and export finance rule reform as governments move to protect supply chains from geopolitical disruption.

Senior representatives from the export credit agencies of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US met in Washington to discuss how public finance can support exporters, industrial strategy and supply chain resilience.

The meeting placed particular emphasis on critical minerals, where governments are under pressure to secure supplies for energy transition, defence, technology and advanced manufacturing. The agencies also discussed the use of blended finance and new approaches to improving exporter competitiveness.

The talks come as export credit agencies are playing a more active role in areas that were once left mainly to commercial lenders. Their mandates are expanding beyond traditional export support into economic resilience, energy security and the protection of strategic industries.

The G7 agencies also agreed to carry momentum into negotiations on modernising the OECD Arrangement, the international framework governing officially supported export credits. Current rules have come under pressure as governments seek more flexible tools to compete in a fragmented trade environment.

For trade finance, the message is clear. Export credit agencies are becoming central to how governments respond to supply chain risk. That shift is likely to create more public-backed financing options for exporters, commodity buyers and project sponsors in sectors seen as strategically important.