Malaysia’s MITI clarifies that US trade and mineral pacts do not alter technical conditions imposed on Lynas or other rare earth firms operating in the country.

KUALA LUMPUR: Commitments made by Malaysia under recent agreements with the United States will not affect the government’s decision to enforce technical conditions on Lynas Malaysia or other rare earth element companies.

The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry issued this clarification in a written reply to the Dewan Negara.

It was responding to a question from Senator Datuk Wu Him Ven regarding the impact of two specific commitments.

These are the Licensing Certainty commitment in the Joint Statement on the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and the memorandum of understanding on Critical Minerals.

MITI stated the Critical Minerals MoU clearly outlines areas of cooperation, including topics related to good regulatory practices.

This includes facilitating the process of issuing permits for the REE industry, such as mining permits and manufacturing licences.

“This agreement includes fair and equitable treatment for investors, as well as the implementation of sustainable projects that comply with environmental, social and governance practices,” the ministry said.

It added that both countries are committed to strengthening the critical minerals sector.

The ministry also confirmed that the sale of REE products will be determined by the respective authorities or governments.

On the status of negotiations between Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Chinese companies, MITI said discussions are still at an early stage.

No final agreement has been signed because the Chinese government has not yet named its representative for the cooperation.

The government has mandated Khazanah Nasional to comprehensively examine potential strategic collaboration models.

This research covers commercial viability, technology safeguarding, and alignment with national interests.

Regarding heavy rare-earth element separation technology, MITI said no technology transfer has been finalised.

It noted that commercial-level HREE production globally is currently only done by plants in China and the Lynas facility in Kuantan.

 The Sun Malaysia